■■\c\~\, 


■''M';N!A, 


CALIF. 


READING  THE  BIBLE 


By  WILLIAM  LYON  PHELPS 


Essays  on  Modern  Novelists 

Essays  on  Russian  Novelists 

Essays  on  Books 

Teaching  in  School  and  College 

Reading  the  Bible 

The  Beginnings  of  the  English  Romantic  Movement 

The  Advance  of  the  English  Novel 

The  Advance  of  English  Poetry  in  the  Twentieth 

Century 
Archibald  Marshall 
Browning:  How  to  Know  Him 
A  Dash  at  the  Pole 
The  Twentieth  Century  Theatre 


READING  THE  BIBLE 


BY 
WILLIAM  LYON  PHELPS 

LAMPSON  PROFESSOR  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE  AT  YALE 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 
1919 

All  rights  reserved 


copyright,  i9i9 

By  the  MACMILLAN  C0MP.\NY 

Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  May,  1919 


PREFACE 

THIS  book  is  composed  of  three  lectures, 
on  the  L.  P.  Stone  foundation,  dehvered 
at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  on  the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  of  February,  191 9.  I  wish 
to  express  to  the  professors  and  students  at 
Princeton  my  hearty  appreciation  of  the  honour 
of  their  invitation,  and  of  their  dehghtful  hos- 
pitality. 

W.  L.  P. 

Yale  University, 

Tuesday,  11  March  19 19. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I.  Reading  the  Bible  .         .        .        .        i 

II.  St.  Paul  as  a  Letter  Writer  .        .      47 

III.  Short  Stories  in  the  Bible     ...      92 


READING  THE  BIBLE 


READING  THE  BIBLE 


READING  THE  BIBLE 

WHEN  I  was  five  years  old,  my  mother 
offered  me  a  dollar  if  I  would  read  the 
Bible  through,  from  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis 
to  the  last  chapter  of  Revelation.  I  confess 
that  my  price  has  risen  since  then;  but  in  my 
boyhood  I  had  more  leisure  and  less  cash  than 
I  have  now.  My  total  income  was  six  cents  a 
week;  and  as  I  was  expected  to  deposit  one  cent 
in  the  contribution  box  every  Sunday,  I  always 
regarded  my  income  as  five  cents,  unconsciously 
prophetic  of  the  modem  income-tax  law.  I 
am  glad  that  my  mother  bribed  me  to  read  the 
Bible,  and  glad  that  she  forced  me  to  pay  my 
way  in  church.  At  first  I  thought  more  of  the 
dollar  than  of  the  Holy  Writ;  but  as  I  became 
interested,  I  found  keener  joy  in  the  race  than 
in  the  prize. 
The  best  books  for  children  are  those  that 


2  Reading  the  Bible 

never  were  intended  for  children.  The  ordinary 
child's  Christmas  book  has  an  intolerable  air 
of  condescension  like  the  ingratiating  smile  of 
the  professional  speaker  to  boys,  who  deceives 
only  those  in  bad  health.  Even  children  de- 
serve intellectual  respect  and  profit  by  it.  No 
better  books  for  children  exist  than  Pilgrim^s 
Progress,  Gulliver^s  Travels,  Robinson  Crusoe, 
the  anteburtonian  Arabian  Nights,  and  the 
Bible.  Apart  from  the  mental  discipline  and 
emotional  enrichment  obtained  from  these 
books,  there  exists  to  a  higher  degree  the  same 
reason  for  the  inclusion  of  classics  in  university 
education — the  pleasure  arising  when  educated 
people  have  the  same  background,  a  common 
storehouse  of  memory,  from  which  current 
coin  may  freely  circulate. 

In  the  Cornell  Sun,  March,  191 5,  the  venerable 
Andrew  D.  White,  in  response  to  a  request 
that  he  should  name  the  books  that  had  given 
him  most  real  profit  and  abiding  pleasure, 
began  his  article  with  this  paragraph:  "First 
of  all,  like  most  American  boys  and  girls  of  my 
time,  I  was  brought  up  to  read  the  Bible,  and 
was  nurtured  in  one  of  the  religious  bodies 
which  incorporates  into  its  worship  very  many 


Reading  the  Bible  3 

of  the  noblest  parts  of  our  sacred  books.  Of 
these,  the  portions  which  have  always  seemed 
to  me  to  give  the  keynote  to  the  whole  have 
been,  for  the  Old  Testament,  the  grander 
Psalms,  the  nobler  portions  of  Isaiah,  and  above 
all  the  sixth  chapter  of  Micah;  and  in  the  New 
Testament,  the  utterances  ascribed  to  Jesus 
himself,  of  which  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is 
supreme,  with  St.  James's  definition  of  'pure 
religion  and  undefiled,'  and  St.  Paul's  descrip- 
tion of  'charity.'  In  perfection  of  English 
diction,  there  is,  in  the  whole  range  of  literature, 
nothing  to  surpass  the  story  of  Joseph  and  his 
Brethren." 

When  I  first  read  the  Bible,  I  made  up  my 
own  mind  as  to  the  moral  value  of  certain 
celebrated  achievements,  and  was  encouraged 
to  express  my  views  in  the  family  conversation. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  the  murder  of  the  sleeping 
Sisera  was  treacherous  and  detestable;  and  I 
obtained  no  pleasure  from  the  exultant  song 
of  Deborah — 

The  mother  of  Sisera  looked  out  at  a  window, 
and  cried  through  the  lattice,  Why  is  his  chariot 
so  long  in  coming?  why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his 
chariots? 


4  Reading  the  Bible 

Many  years  later,  while  at  an  Episcopal  church 
one  evening,  whither  I  had  gone  to  hear  one 
of  my  favourite  preachers,  the  Rev.  Harry  P. 
Nichols,  I  was  both  surprised  and  pleased,  to 
hear  him  say,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  reading 
for  the  day,  which  was  this  same  Song,  "We 
should  remember  that  the  glorification  of  this 
abominable  deed  came  from  Deborah,  and  not 
from  Almighty  God." 

Yet  Sisera  was  a  scoundrel,  and  the  result  of 
his  deletion  was  good;  the  land  had  rest  forty 
years.  Furthermore,  if  he  had  won  the  battle, 
we  learn  from  the  words  of  his  mother — capa- 
ble tigress  for  such  a  cub — that  Captain  Sisera 
would  have  treated  the  captured  men  and 
women  even  as  the  Germans  treated  the  French 
and  the  Belgians. 

Nor  did  I  think  highly  of  David's  exploit  in 
killing  Goliath.  All  small  boys  like  heavy- 
weight champions;  and  it  may  be  I  had  a  fond- 
ness for  the  big  fellow.  Anyhow,  it  seemed  to 
me  that  David  did  not  fight  fairly.  Goliath 
came  out  with  the  legitimate  weapons  for  a 
stand-up  fight;  David  stood  at  a  safe  distance 
and  punctured  his  thick  head  with  a  slingshot. 
If  he  had  missed  the  first  time,  he  had  four 


Reading  the  Bible  5 

more  stones  to  throw;  and  if  he  had  failed  to 
make  a  hit  with  any  of  them,  he  would  doubt- 
less have  run  away,  and  Goliath,  encumbered 
with  his  heavy  suit,  would  have  found  it  quite 
impossible  to  catch  him.  I  felt  that  David  was 
something  like  a  guttersnipe,  who,  afraid  to 
fight  with  his  fists,  throws  stones  from  a  coign 
of  vantage;  or  like  a  man  with  a  magazine  gun, 
taking  the  measure  of  a  hippopotamus. 

David's  affair  with  Goliath  compares  un- 
favourably with  the  exploit  of  Benaiah,  narrated 
in  that  wonderful  eleventh  chapter  of  the  first 
book  of  Chronicles,  which  celebrates  the  mighty 
men. 

Benaiah  the  son  of  Jehoiada,  the  son  of  a  valiant  man 
of  Kabzeel,  who  had  done  many  acts;  he  slew  two  lion- 
like men  of  Moab;  also  he  went  down  and  slew  a  lion 
in  a  pit  in  a  snowy  day. 

And  he  slew  an  Egyptian,  a  man  of  great  stature, 
five  cubits  high;  and  in  the  Egyptian's  hand  was  a 
spear  like  a  weaver's  beam;  and  he  went  down  to  him 
with  a  staff,  and  plucked  the  spear  out  of  the  Egyptian's 
hand,  and  slew  him  with  his  own  spear. 

These  things  did  Benaiah  the  son  of  Jehoiada,  and 
had  the  name  among  the  three  mighties. 

I  had  to  comfort  myself  with  the  reflection 


6  Reading  the  Bible 

that  on  other  occasions,  David  exhibited  plenty 
of  courage. 

It  is  of  course  possible  to  regard  David's 
victory  as  the  triumph  of  brains  over  brawn: 
Gohath  was  conservative;  he  was  naturally 
beaten  by  the  younger  antagonist  who  used 
more  modem  methods. 

One  day,  by  mere  chance,  I  hit  upon  an 
expedient  that  not  only  helped  me  to  remember 
the  Bible  stories,  but  which  I  heartily  recom- 
mend to  all  parents  and  guardians  who  still 
wish  to  have  the  youth  entrusted  to  their  care 
become  familiar  with  the  Scriptures.  I  was 
drawing  pictures.  My  prolonged  and  unusual 
silence  in  the  room  aroused  the  interest  of 
my  mother — "What  are  you  doing  there?" 
"Drawing  pictures."  "But  don't  you  know 
this  is  Sunday?  You  must  not  draw  pictures 
on  Sunday." 

Nobody  ought  to  infer  from  this  that  my 
mother  was  grim.  She  and  I  were  intimate 
friends,  tmderstood  each  other  perfectly,  and 
got  along  together  beautifully. 

Suddenly  I  remembered  the  Bible.  "But 
mother,  it'll  be  all  right  to  draw  Bible  p'c- 
tures?"     She  turned  this  suggestion  up  aad 


Reading  the  Bible  7 

down  in  her  mind,  and  found  it  good.  I  there- 
fore set  to  work,  and  after  another  period  of 
silence,  I  proudly  exhibited  to  her  a  soldier, 
armed  to  the  teeth,  literally,  for  in  addition  to 
gun  and  pistol,  he  had  a  large  knife  in  his 
mouth. 

"Didn't  I  tell  you"~"But  mother,  this  is 
Joab,  captain  of  the  host  of  Israel."  From 
this  accidental  Sabbatarian  exploit,  I  conceived 
the  idea  of  drawing  a  picture  to  illustrate  every 
chapter  in  the  Bible.  And  this  method  I  rec- 
ommend to  the  young,  for  if  one  draws  a  picture 
for  each  chapter,  one  must  read  the  whole 
chapter  through  to  find  the  best  available 
subject,  and  in  this  way,  much  will  be  remem- 
bered. It  is  not  necessary  to  possess  even 
rudimentary  skill  with  the  pencil.  I  was 
obliged  to  label  my  pictures  distinctly — a  union 
of  literature  and  art — in  order  that  spectators 
might  know  whether  the  picture  were  animal, 
vegetable,  or  mineral — the  invariable  first  en- 
quiry in  the  game  Twenty  Questions. 

In  the  process  of  illustrating  the  sacred 
volume,  I  got  along  excellently  well  in  Genesis, 
Joshua,  Judges,  Kings;  there  were  frequent 
fights.    But  when  I  plunged  into  the  jungle  of 


8  Reading  the  Bible 

Paul's  doctrinal  epistles,  my  advance  was  slow. 
It  is  not  easy  properly  to  illustrate  some  of  the 
chapters  in  Romans.  I  remember  reading 
through  the  whole  eighth  chapter  and  finishing 
in  despair.  Determined  not  to  be  beaten,  I 
began  to  read  it  again,  and  was  brought  up 
with  a  turn  at  the  twenty-second  verse:  "the 
whole  creation  groaneth."  I  set  to  work  with 
an  inspiration. 

At  that  time  I  knew  nothing  of  spiritual 
suffering;  I  supposed  that  people  groaned  only 
when  there  was  something  the  matter  with 
them.  Like  all  small  boys,  I  had  eaten  many 
green  apples,  sometimes  with  disastrous  results. 
My  conception  of  this  passage  was  not  alto- 
gether without  a  certain  vast  grandeur.  I  lit- 
erally supposed  that  once  upon  a  time  every 
living  person  in  the  world  had  indigestion  at 
the  same  moment;  hence  universal  compulsory 
groaning.  I  therefore  drew  a  picture  of  a  large 
number  of  people  standing  in  a  circle,  each  in 
an  attitude  of  anguish:  and  under  it  I  wrote 

THE  WHOLE   CREATION  GROANETH 

When  I  brought  this  picture  to  my  mother,  she 
looked  at  it  and  for  some  minutes  was  unable 


Reading  the  Bible  9 

to  speak;  she  paid  it  that  reverent  silence  which 
I  suppose  is  the  highest  tribute  to  art.  Then 
she  told  me  that  I  had  made  an  original  contri- 
bution to  New  Testament  interpretation,  for 
no  commentator  in  the  world  had  ever  thought 
of  this  explanation.  I  retired  proudly.  After 
I  grew  up,  I  mistakenly  regarded  my  exegesis 
as  absurd;  and  it  was  only  a  few  years  ago  that 
my  respect  for  it  was  restored  by  my  friend 
President  Hadley.  I  had  narrated  the  story, 
and  he  immediately  said  that  after  all  I  was 
correct;  for  from  the  orthodox  point  of  view 
it  was  the  unauthorised  eating  of  apples  that 
made  the  whole  creation  groan. 

Even  before  the  printed  Bible  was  known  in 
England,  manuscript  copies  were  sometimes 
chained  in  the  churches.  There  still  exists  at 
Hereford  Cathedral  a  library  of  two  thousand 
books,  about  fifteen  hundred  of  them  chained; 
some  of  these  are  in  manuscript,  and  among 
them  is  a  catalogue,  also  chained.  Cromwell, 
as  vicar-general,  by  injunctions  in  September, 
1538,  and  King  Henry  VIII,  by  a  proclamation 
dated  6  May,  1541,  provided  that  every  parish 
church  should  supply  itself  with  a  Bible;  the 
book  was  of  course  chained  in  some  public 


lo  Reading  the  Bible 

place.  There  were  some  copies  of  the  Bible  in 
Holland  which  excited  the  anger  of  the  Devil, 
as  was  proved  by  the  marks  of  his  claws  upon 
them;  the  result  of  which  was  a  law  requiring 
them  to  be  chained.  Foxe's  Book  oj  Martyrs 
was  frequently  available  in  similar  fashion, 
"not  to  be  taken  from  the  room." 

The  so-called  Authorised,  or  King  James 
Version  of  the  Bible,  pubhshed  in  1611,  is  the 
most  important  and  the  most  influential  book 
in  English  literature;  and  although  copies  of  it 
do  not  fetch  an  extraordinary  price,  it  is  a 
rarity.  The  New  York  Public  Library  and  the 
Morgan  Library  both  have  one;  university 
libraries  certainly  should  obtain  one  while  it  is 
possible  to  do  so.  I  do  not  know  how  many 
were  issued  in  the  original  edition,  but  for  the 
most  part,  whether  chained  or  not,  they  were 
read  "hard,"  and  many  of  them  fell  to  pieces 
or  disappeared  altogether.  It  is  difficult  to  find 
one  in  perfect  condition,  the  great  desideratum 
of  book-collectors. 

In  161 1  Robert  Barker  had  the  exclusive 
right  to  sell  the  volume.  The  size  was  16 
inches  by  10^/2;  the  binding  was  full  calf,  with 
covers  half  an  inch  thick,  hence  called  "boards." 


Reading  the  Bible  1 1 

It  weighed  ly'/j  pounds.  It  was  printed  in 
black-letter,  with  three  styles  of  t>pe.  The 
headlines,  inserted  words,  summaries  at  heads 
of  chapters,  references  in  margin  to  parallel 
passages  were  roman,  and  the  side-notes  giving 
alternative  readings  were  italic. 

The  Dean  and  Chapter  of  Worcester  Cathe- 
dral in  1611  bought  a  Bible  of  the  new  issue  for 
two  pounds,  eighteen  shillings;  it  was  probably 
in  handsome  binding. 

Copies  of  the  161 1  first  edition  vary,  as  was 
common  with  other  books  in  those  days.  The 
earlier  copies  are  known  as  the  "he"  Bible  and 
later  ones  as  the  "she"  Bible,  because  of  an 
error  in  Ruth,  III,  15,  "and  she  went  into  the 
city,"  where  in  the  earlier  printing  the  word 
"he"  was  erroneously  given.  The  "he"  Bible 
is,  in  general,  a  better  piece  of  mechanical  work 
than  the  "she."  The  copies  of  the  latter  vary 
considerably,  almost  all  showing  combinations 
of  sheets  of  two  and  perhaps  three  printings. 
To-day  the  "he"  Bible  is  much  more  costly 
than  the  "she,"  although,  as  has  been  said, 
perfect  copies  of  either  are  scarce.  The  Yale 
University  Library  is  fortunate  in  having  a 
perfect  copy  of  the  "he"  Bible,  and  the  same 


12  Reading  the  Bible 

Library  also  has  an  imperfect  "she."  The 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  has  two  good 
copies  of  the  "  she "  issue,  one  of  them  pre- 
sented by  Henry  van  Dyke. 

The  size  of  the  vocabulary  in  the  Authorised 
Version  is  a  matter  of  some  interest,  and  Pro- 
fessor Albert  S.  Cook  of  Yale  undertook  the 
task  of  counting  all  the  words.  He  says,  "I 
compute  the  number  of  words  in  the  Authorised 
Version  to  be  6,568.  If  to  these  were  added 
the  inflected  forms  of  nouns,  pronouns,  or 
verbs,  .  .  .  the  total  would  be  9,884." 

The  Authorised  Version  is  incomparably  the 
best  both  for  the  pulpit  and  for  educated 
readers.  I  remember  in  the  year  1881  that  the 
excitement  over  the  Revised  Version  of  the 
New  Testament  was  so  intense  that  wheel- 
barrow loads  of  copies  were  sold  in  the  streets, 
and  one  of  the  New  York  newspapers  published 
the  entire  work  in  a  Sunday  issue.  Many 
believed  that  the  Revised  Version  would  sup- 
plant the  old;  but  after  a  few  years,  the  people 
returned  to  the  familiar  book.  There  are  some 
positive  errors  which  were  corrected  in  the 
Revised  Version;  but  the  nineteenth  century 
scholars  lost  in  beauty  what  they  gained  in 


Reading  the  Bible  13 

accuracy.  There  is  no  EngHsh  in  the  world 
equal  to  that  found  in  the  161 1  Bible.  The  re- 
visers knew  more  Greek,  and  less  English. 
Whether  the  original  text  was  inspired  or  not, 
I  have  never  felt  any  doubt  as  to  the  divine  in- 
spiration of  the  version  of  161 1. 

For  the  benefit  of  soldiers  in  military  camps 
and  on  duty  overseas,  an  interesting  and  suc- 
cessful experiment  in  condensation  has  recently 
been  made.  With  the  assistance  of  some 
colleagues,  Professor  Charles  F.  Kent  of  Yale 
has  prepared  a  new  translation  and  rearrange- 
ment of  the  text,  called  The  Shorter  Bible,  of 
which  the  volume  containing  the  New  Testa- 
ment appeared  in  191 8.  All  repetitions  in  the 
Gospel  narrative  are  omitted;  the  subject- 
matter  is  logically  and  topically  presented;  the 
original  is  translated  into  dignified  but  strictly 
modem  English,  with  the  exclusion  of  archaic 
and  obsolete  words.  In  this  convenient  form, 
the  greatest  of  all  books  seems  bom  anew. 

But  except  in  special  instances,  and  for 
special  needs,  the  Authorised  Version  is  the  one 
above  all  others  for  the  general  reader.  I  was 
rather  surprised  to  find  in  the  Literary  Supple- 
ment of  the  London  Times,  under  date  of  the 


14  Reading  the  Bible 

fourth  of  July,  1918,  a  statement  that  British 
churches  are  supplanting  the  Old  with  the 
Revised.  This  testimony  is  cited  here,  not 
merely  as  a  witness  to  a  regrettable  tendency, 
but  as  a  fine  tribute  to  the  version  of  161 1. 

And  they  constantly  regret  the  increasing  tendency, 
noticeable  in  our  churches,  to  replace  the  Authorised 
Version,  which  gave  us  all,  perhaps  more  than  all,  the 
poetry  and  moving  quaUty  of  the  original,  by  the 
Revised,  which  sacrifices  these  things  to  a  grammatical 
pedantry  of  intellectual  precision.  It  is  safe  to  prophesy 
that  if  the  Bible  is  ever  to  be  restored  to  the  place  it 
occupied  a  hundred  years  ago  in  the  hearts  and  mem- 
ories of  the  English  people  it  will  not  be  through  the 
medium  of  the  Revised  Version.  It  is  poetry,  not 
logical  or  grammatical  accuracy,  that  moves  and  wins 
men,  and  that  not  only  by  its  beauty,  but  by  its  higher 
and  more  essential  truth. 

It  is  worth  remembering,  that  shortly  after  the 
appearance  of  the  Revised  Version,  Matthew 
Arnold  made  a  plea  for  the  retention  of  the 
Old. 

For  those  who  wish  to  read  the  whole  Bible, 
and  every  one  at  some  time  ought  to  read  it 
all  at  least  once,  those  of  systematic  habits  can 
read  it  through — omitting  the  Apocrypha — in 


Reading  the  Bible  15 

exactly  one  year.  There  are  1,188  chapters, 
928  in  the  Old  Testament,  260  in  the  New.  If 
one  reads  three  chapters  ever}^  week  day,  and 
five  every  Sunday,  one  will  finish  the  under- 
taking just  within  the  year.  Or,  if  one  reads 
only  on  Sundays,  and  five  chapters  of  the  New 
Testament  each  Sunday,  one  will  complete 
this  task  on  the  fifty-second  day. 

This  is  a  chronological  rather  than  a  logical 
way  of  reading  the  Bible,  but  it  has  its  merits. 
It  is  naturally  much  better  to  read  a  whole 
book,  or  a  whole  connected  narrative  in  one 
sitting.  I  remember,  when  caught  in  the  rain 
one  Sunday  in  a  small  town  in  England,  that 
I  pleasantly  celebrated  being  marooned  by 
reading  the  Gospel  according  to  Mark  without 
rising  from  my  chair. 

I  The  Bible  is  not  only  the  foundation  of 
modem  English  literature,  it  is  the  foundation_^ 
of  Anglo-Saxon  civilisation.  It  seems  a  narrow 
and  mistaken  poUcy  to  drive  it  out  of  the  public 
schools.  When  I  was  a  boy,  every  day  in 
school  began  with  a  chapter  in  the  Bible  and 
the  Lord's  Prayer;  surely  there  is  nothing  sec- 
tarian about  that.  Merely  in  dignity,  the 
Hebrew  and  Christian  rehgions  compare  favour- 


1 6  Reading  the  Bible 

ably  with  the  Greek  and  Roman,  with  which 
we  were  compelled  to  familiarise  ourselves  at 
school,  and  so  far  as  I  know,  without  protest 
from  any  source.  If  the  Greek  and  Roman 
gods  and  goddesses  were  alive  to-day,  every 
one  of  them  would  be  in  jail. 

American  boys  and  girls  know  more  about 
the  Bible  than  was  the  case  twenty  years  ago; 
at  the  dawn  of  the  twentieth  century  Biblical 
ignorafice  among  our  youth  and  particularly 
among  college  undergraduates  was  by  way 
of  becoming  a  public  scandal.  Well-bred  boys 
in  many  instances  were  innocent  of  even  the 
pemmibra  of  knowledge.  Professor  Louns- 
bury  discovered  a  young '  gentleman  in  his 
classes  who  had  never  heard  of  Pontius  Pilate. 
Twenty-five  years  ago  I  requested  a  Freshman 
to  elucidate  the  line  in.  As  You  Like  It,  "Here 
feel  we  not  the  penalty  of  Adam."  He  replied 
confidently,  "It  was  the  mark  imposed  on  him 
for  slaying  his  brother."  To  another  I  asked 
the  meaning  of  the  passage  in  Macbeth,  "Or 
memorise  another  Golgotha."  Seeing  the  blank 
expression  on  his  handsome  face,  I  said,  "It  is 
a  New  Testament  reference."  "Oh  yes,"  he 
exclaimed,  "it  refers  to  Goliath."     At  about 


Reading  the  Bible  17 

this  time,  a  young  clergyman,  obsessed  with 
the  importance  of  the  "higher  criticism," 
announced  that  if  he  accepted  a  call  to  a  west- 
em  church,  he  must  be  allowed  to  preach  to 
the  younger  people  about  the  second  Isaiah. 
"That's  all  right,"  said  the  deacon  cheerfully; 
"most  of  'em  don't  know  there  is  even  one." 

What  with  regular  school  and  college  courses 
in  the  English  Bible,  and  the  publication  of 
many  first  aids  to  Biblical  ignorance,  we  have 
made  much  progress  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years;  but  it  is  still  true  that  the  young 
generation  to-day  are  not  so  familiar  wdth  the 
Bible  as  was  customary  a  century  ago.  Igno- 
rant as  the  boy,  the  girl,  and  the  man  in  the 
street  are,  however,  there  is  not  the  slightest 
indication  of  any  falling  away  from  knowledge 
among  the  poets,  novelists,  and  dramatists. 
-The  Bible  has  been  a  greater  influence  on  the 
course  of  English  literature  than  all  other 
forces  put  together;  it  is  impossible  to  read 
standard  authors  intelligently  without  knowing 
something  about  the  Bible,  for  they  aU  assume 
familiarity  with  it  on  the  part  of  their  readers. 
But  what  particularly  pleases  me  is  that  not  / 
only    standard,    but    contemporary    authors, 


1 8  Reading  the  Bible 

exhibit  consciously  or  unconsciously  intimacy 
with  the  Scriptures.  So  universally  true  is  this, 
that  to  any  young  man  or  woman  eaten  with 
ambition  to  become  a  writer,  I  should  advise 
first  of  all — "Kjiow  the  Bible."  Ibsen  said  his 
chief  reading  was  always  in  the  Bible:  "it  is  so 
strong  and  mighty."  Tolstoi  knew  the  Scrip- 
tures like  Timothy;  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
read  Dostoevski's  novels — and  everyone  wants 
to  read  them  just  now — ^without  knowing  the 
Bible.  For  four  years  in  the  Siberian  prison, 
the  New  Testament  was  his  most  intimate 
friend.  Hjs  greatest  stories  are  really  com- 
mentaries. Andreev,  giving  a  list  of  the  books 
that  had  influenced  him  the  most,  put  the 
Bible  first.  Kipling's  finest  poem,  the  Reces- 
sional, is  almost  as  close  a  paraphrase  of  Scrip- 
ture as  the  hymn  Nearer,  my  God,  to  thee,  which 
is  a  verse-translation  of  a  passage  in  the  twenty- 
eighth  chapter  of  Genesis.  Every  modem 
novel,  every  modem  play  I  read  is  almost  sure 
to  reveal  an  acquaintance  with  the  great  Book. 
And  one  of  the  chief  features  of  twentieth- 
century  drama  has  been  the  dramatisation  of 
Bible  stories,  presenting  to  metropolitan  audi- 
ences the  revelation  of  human  passion  where  it 


Reading  the  Bible  19 

may  be  found  in  its  most  powerful  and  con- 
v-incing  forms.  In  Stuart  Walker's  theatre 
version  of  the  Book  of  Job,  the  sublimity  of  the 
speeches  is  impressive.  /- 

Within  the  last  three  years,  three  tributes 
have  been  paid  to  the  Bible  by  three  distin- 
guished men  of  letters,  who,  curiously  enough, 
seem  to  be  the  last  three  on  earth  from  whom 
such  a  tribute  would  have  been  expected.  The 
finest  English  novel  produced  by  the  war  is 
Mr.  Britling  Sees  it  Through,  by  the  apostle  of 
scientific  education,  H.  G.  Wells;  he  could  not 
have  written  it  without  a  profound  knowledge 
of  the  New  Testament.  The  transcendent 
element  in  this  story  is  its  spiritual  force,  which 
he  obtained  directly  from  the  Gospels.  That 
arch  Pagan,  George  Moore,  who  boasts  that  he 
has  not  even  a  grain  of  faith,  and  who,  in  an 
autobiographical  sketch,  put  down  as  his  chief 
recreation.  Religion,  wrote  a  long  novel  on  the 
life  of  Christ;  and  although  it  is  filled  ^\'ith 
sacrilege,  it  exhibits  the  sway  over  his  heart 
and  mind  held  by  the  greatest  PersonaHty  in 
history.  He  found  he  could  not  escape  from 
the  Son  of  Man,  and  wrote  this  book  to  relieve 
his  own  mind,  as  old  Burton  wrote  a  treatise  on 


20  Reading  the  Bible 

melancholy  to  cure  liimself  of  it.  Finally,  the 
wittiest  iconoclast  of  our  day,  Bernard  Shaw, 
in  the  long  preface  to  Androcles  and  the  Lion, 
has  produced  a  carefully-written  commentary 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  printed  pages, 
dealing  with  the  Gospels  in  turn,  with  Acts,  and 
the  Hfe  and  letters  of  Paul.  It  is  a  marvellous 
and  reverent  exposition  of  Christ's  teaching  as 
he  understands  it,  and  we  have  the  spectacle 
of  Bernard  Shaw  bowing  his  hitherto  uncon- 
quered  head  in  the  presence  of  the  King  of 
Kings.  He  has  been  reading  and  rereading 
the  Bible  with  close  attention;  he  emerges  from 
its  study  not  only  fascinated  by  the  central 
figure,  but  with  a  sincere  belief  that  only 
through  following  the  teachings  of  Jesus  can 
society  attain  salvation.  He  beUeves  that 
Jesus  knew  more  about  human  nature  than 
any  other  person  who  ever  lived;  that  He  knew 
not  only  our  diseases,  but  the  remedy  for  them. 
I  am  not  concerned  here  with  the  truth  or 
error  of  the  religious  interpretations  respectively 
put  forth  by  Mr.  Wells,  Mr.  Moore,  Mr.  Shaw; 
but  only  with  the  plain  fact  that  these  three 
creative  artists  have  been  recently  studying 
the  Bible  with  extraordinary  zeal. 


Reading  the  Bible  21 

The  Bible  contains  every  form  of  literature 
in  the  highest  degree,  except  humour.  The 
seriousness  of  the  main  theme — man's  relation 
to  God — and  the  serious  cast  of  mind  charac- 
teristic of  the  various  writers,  forbade  the 
introduction  of  anything  approaching  hilarity. 
Yet  there  are  adumbrations  of  humour  here  and 
there.  In  Stuart  Walker's  stage  production, 
The  Book  of  Job,  there  are  a  half  dozen  pas- 
sages or  situations  that  arouse  audible  risibility. 
I  wish  that  we  were  able  to  interpret  as  humor- 
ous the  famous  passage  (Job,  XXXI,  35) 
"behold,  my  desire  is  .  .  .  that  mine  adversary 
had  written  a  book."  No  worse  fate  could  be 
wished  for  one's  enemy,  as  every  writer  of 
books  knows  only  too  well;  but  although  the 
verse  is  often  quoted  lightly,  I  fear  that  in  the 
original  there  is  no  pleasantry.  I  have  always 
thought  that  the  chronicler  in  Acts  (XII,  18) 
intended  the  puzzlement  of  the  soldiers  to  be 
faintly  humorous:  "Now  as  soon  as  it  was  day, 
there  was  no  small  stir  among  the  soldiers, 
what  was  become  of  Peter." 

It  is  difficult  to  read  the  following  verse  in 
Proverbs  without  smiling:  "He  that  blesseth 
his  friend  with  a  loud  voice,  rising  early  in  the 


22  Reading  the  Bible 

morning,  it  shall  be  counted  a  curse  to  him." 
And  the  world-old  joke  about  shrewish  women 
comes  on  the  heels  of  the  inopportune  friend: 
"A  continual  dropping  in  a  very  rainy  day  and 
a  contentious  woman  are  alike." 

The  pessimist  who  wrote  Ecclesiastes  ad- 
mitted that  there  was  a  time  to  laugh,  but  he 
apparently  found  no  time  for  it  himself.  The 
Puritans  had  good  authority  for  their  dislike 
of  laughter,  and  were  forever  citing  the  thorns 
crackling  under  the  pot.  Their  view  was  well 
expressed  in  Proverbs — "Even  in  laughter  the 
heart  is  sorrowful." 

I  cannot  recall  any  occasion  when  Our  Lord 
laughed  aloud;  but  He  must  have  been  amused 
more  than  once.  I  am  sure  that  He  wanted  to 
laugh  when  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children 
fatuously  requested  that  her  two  sons  might 
sit,  one  on  His  right  hand,  and  one  on  His  left, 
in  the  kingdom.  He  settled  that  question  and 
calmed  the  subsequent  indignation  of  the  Ten 
with  divine  tact. 

Yet  if  there  is  little  humour  in  the  Bible, 
there  is  an  immense  amount  of  irony.  The 
Psalms  and  the  Prophetic  Books  abound  with 
illustrations. 


Reading  the  Bible  23 

The  Bible  is  full  of  both  passion  and  senti- 
ment, but  it  has  no  sentimentality.  It  is  rather 
remarkable  that  there  is,  so  far  as  I  can  re- 
member, not  one  touch  of  false  sentiment.  In 
nearly  aU  old  books,  the  pathos  that  drew  tears 
from  contemporary  readers  often  obtains  either 
smiles  or  ya^^^ls  from  later  generations;  but  the 
scenes  of  sentiment  in  the  Bible  are  so  deeply 
founded  on  human  nature,  that  they  impress 
the  twentieth  century  with  as  much  force  as  in 
the  time  when  they  were  written.  Four  su- 
preme instances,  out  of  an  uncoimtable  number, 
may  be  given — illustrating  the  love  of  man  to 
woman,  the  love  of  brother  to  brother,  the  love 
of  man  to  man,  and  the  grief  of  a  father  for  a 
dead  son. 

And  Jacob  served  seven  years  for  Rachel;  and  they 
seemed  unto  him  but  a  few  days,  for  the  love  he  had 
to  her. 

In  the  marvellous  story  of  Joseph  and  his 
brethren,  when  Joseph  saw  the  lad  Benjamin, 
his  own  brother,  the  situation  is  enough  to  tax 
the  power  of  the  most  consummate  artist;  but 
the  simpHcity  and  dignity  of  the  Bible  narrative 
leave  nothing  to  add,  change,  or  omit. 


24  Reading  the  Bible 

And  he  asked  them  of  their  welfare,  and  said,  Is  your 
father  well,  the  old  man  of  whom  ye  spake?  Is  he  yet 
alive?  And  they  answered.  Thy  servant  our  father  is 
in  good  health,  he  is  yet  alive.  And  they  bowed  down 
their  heads,  and  made  obeisance. 

And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  his  brother  Ben- 
jamin, his  mother's  son,  and  said.  Is  this  your  younger 
brother,  of  whom  ye  spake  unto  me?  And  he  said, 
God  be  gracious  unto  thee,  my  son. 

And  Joseph  made  haste;  for  his  bowels  did  yearn 
upon  his  brother;  and  he  sought  where  to  weep;  and 
he  entered  into  his  chamber,  and  wept  there. 

When  David  was  informed  of  the  death  of 
Saul  and  Jonathan,  his  lament  for  the  latter  is 
misurpassed  in  hterature  as  a  tribute  to  the 
strength  of  men's  friendships. 

Saul  and  Jonathan  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their 
lives,  and  in  their  death  they  were  not  divided:  they 
were  swifter  than  eagles,  they  were  stronger  than 
lions.  .  .  .  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst 
of  the  battle!  O  Jonathan,  thou  wast  slain  in  thine 
high  places.  I  am  distressed  for  thee,  my  brother 
Jonathan:  very  pleasant  hast  thou  been  unto  me:  thy 
love  to  me  was  wonderful,  passing  the  love  of  women. 

When  King  David  awaits  the  news  of  the 
decisive  battle  of  the  civil  war,  he  has  only  one 
question  for  both  messengers,  Is  the  young  man 


Reading  the  Bible  25 

Ahsaloin  safe  ?  Ahimaaz  did  not  dare  to  tell  the 
truth,  when  he  saw  where  his  master's  interest 
centered;  Cushi  replied  with  matchless  diplo- 
matic tact,  but  to  no  avail.  The  king's  passion 
of  grief  for  his  cruel  son  seemed  merely  an 
enigma  to  the  two  messengers,  whilst  to  that 
seasoned  fighting-hack,  Joab,  it  seemed  ridicu- 
lous and  disgusting.  But  to  us  it  is  not  only 
impressive  beyond  words,  it  reveals  one  of  the 
qualities  of  the  king  that  make  us  love  him. 

And  the  king  said  unto  Cushi,  Is  the  young  man 
Absalom  safe?  And  Cushi  answered,  The  enemies  of 
my  lord  the  king,  and  all  that  rise  against  tliee  to  do 
thee  hurt,  be  as  that  young  man  is. 

And  the  king  was  much  moved,  and  went  up  to  the 
chamber  over  the  gate,  and  wept:  and  as  he  went, 
thus  he  said,  O  my  son  Absalom,  my  son,  my  son 
Absalom!  would  God  I  had  died  for  thee,  O  Absalom, 
my  son,  my  son! 

There  is  no  narrative  style  superior  to  that 
of  the  Old  Testament  historians.  They  in- 
cluded everything,  both  good  and  bad,  never 
trying  to  make  an  idealised  portrait.  Now  the 
most  important  thing  in  a  king's  life,  both  for 
himself  and  for  the  welfare  of  his  subjects,  is 
his  moral  character.    Is  it  good  or  bad?    This 


26  Reading  the  Bible 

statement  is  given  first,  for  it  deserves  primacy; 
his  personal  appearance,  physical  endowments, 
accomplishments  are  all  secondary. 

In  the  three  and  twentieth  year  of  Joash  the  son  of 
Ahaziah  king  of  Judah  Jehoahaz  the  son  of  Jehu  began 
to  reign  over  Israel  in  Samaria,  and  reigned  seventeen 
years. 

And  he  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  and  followed  the  sins  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of 
Nebat,  which  made  Israel  to  sin;  he  departed  not 
therefrom. 

Out  of  these  impartially  written  historical 
pages,  where  one  fact  soberly  follows  another, 
individuals  leap  to  hfe  with  astonishing  vividity. 
Agag,  going  dehcately,  and  saying  "Surely 
the  bitterness  of  death  is  past";  the  sprinter 
Asahel,  "light  of  foot  as  a  wild  roe,"  who 
turned  not  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the  left 
from  following  Abner,  and  whom  Abner  re- 
luctantly slew  pushing  his  spear  back  at  him; 
Amasa,  treacherously  slain  by  Joab,  "Art  thou 
in  health,  my  brother?"  Many  characters 
like  the  above,  to  whom  only  a  few  lines  are 
given,  are  nevertheless  unforgettable;  whilst 
the  more  important  personages,  Jehu,  Ahab, 


Reading  the  Bible  27 

Jezebel,  Joab,  are  as  real  to  us  as  the  leading 
figures  in  American  histor>\ 

Jonathan  has  been  somewhat  obscured  by- 
David,  but  he  was  the  opposite  of  a  weak 
character.  He  was  a  first-class  fighting  man. 
It  took  inmiense  courage  to  defy  a  father  like 
Saul,  and  let  it  be  remembered  that  when 
Saul,  in  ungovernable  passion,  threw  a  javelin 
at  Jonathan  across  the  dinner-table,  Jonathan 
showed  no  fear.  The  history  says,  "So  Jona- 
than arose  from  the  table  in  fierce  anger." 

As  for  Da\id  himself,  he  had  many  sins  to 
answer  for,  including  murder  and  adultery  in 
their  most  malignant  form;  yet  every  one  loves 
David,  for  he  had  a  great  heart.  WTien  Nathan 
stood  up  to  him,  instead  of  killing  the  bold 
prophet,  he  admitted  his  guilt;  he  was  more 
interested  in  the  welfare  of  Absalom  than  in 
the  outcome  of  the  rebellion  against  his  throne; 
his  attitude  toward  King  Saul  was  a  model  of 
loyalty  and  forbearance;  liis  personal  magnetism 
was  so  powerful  that  mighty  men  loved  to 
risk  their  lives  for  him.  Sometimes  I  think  the 
finest  episode  in  his  career  was  when  he  refused 
to  drink  the  water  brought  to  him  by  the  three 
champions. 


28  Reading  the  Bible 

And  David  longed,  and  said,  Oh  that  one  would 
give  me  drink  of  the  water  of  the  well  of  Bethlehem, 
that  is  at  the  gate!  And  the  three  brake  through  the 
host  of  the  Philistines,  and  drew  water  out  of  the  well 
of  Bethlehem,  that  was  by  the  gate,  and  took  it,  and 
brought  it  to  David;  but  David  would  not  drink  of  it, 
but  poured  it  out  to  the  Lord,  And  said.  My  God  for- 
bid it  me,  that  I  should  do  this  thing;  shall  I  drink 
the  blood  of  these  men  that  have  put  their  lives  in 
jeopardy?  for  with  the  jeopardy  of  their  lives  they 
brought  it.    Therefore  he  would  not  drink  it. 

John  Masefield,  the  English  poet,  in  a  memo- 
rable speech  made  in  America  in  June,  1918, 
cited  this  incident  as  a  parable.  He  said  that 
after  this  great  war  is  over,  we  shall  feel  un- 
worthy of  using  the  freedom  bought  by  victory; 
for  our  liberty  will  come  to  us  through  the 
sacrifice  of  heroes. 

And  if  the  mature  King  David  is  splendid, 
the  lyric  David  is  one  of  the  most  radiant 
figures  in  history.  Was  there  ever  a  finer 
description  of  a  young  athlete,  than  the  follow- 
ing sketch  of  David?  And  remember  that  the 
whole  account  of  his  appearance  and  accom- 
plishments is  compressed  into  a  part  of  one 
sentence,  which  is  itself  only  a  part  of  one 
Bible  verse: 


Reading  the  Bible  29 

Cunning  in  playing,  and  a  mighty  valiant  man,  and 
a  man  of  war,  and  ])rudcnt  in  speech,  and  a  comely 
pv.rson,  and  tlic  Lord  is  with  him. 

This  recommendation  was  naturally  enough 
for  Saul,  and  he  sent  for  the  young  haip 
player. 

.\lthough  paraphrases  of  the  Bible  are  usually 
weak — I  once  o\Mied  a  book  that  contained 
the  Gospels  told  in  rime,  heaven  knows  why — 
many  of  the  masterpieces  of  English  literature 
have  been  founded  directly  on  the  Bible  text. 
We  need  to  think  only  of  Milton's  Smnson 
Agonistes,  and  of  Browning's  Saul.  In  Brown- 
ing, David  soothes  the  king  by  playing  the  old 
tunes  of  the  pasture.  Saul  was  a  cowboy;  he 
was  rounding  up  his  father's  herd  when  the 
king-hunters  came  after  him;  many  times  amid 
the  responsibiUties  of  the  monarchy,  he  must 
have  been  homesick  for  the  free  Hfe  of  the 
hills.  David  knew  what  he  was  about  when 
he  played  pastoral  tunes. 

The  great  prophets  of  Israel  exhibited  not 
only  a  zeal  for  righteousness,  but  plenty  of 
common  sense.  I  like  the  quiet  way  in  which 
they  settled  minor  questions.  Wlien  Elisha 
was  plowing,  and  EUjah  cast  his  mantle  on 


30  Reading  the  Bible 

him,  the  youth  knew  he  was  called  to  greater 
things  than  farm  work,  but  he  asked  the  man 
of  God,  "Let  me,  I  pray  thee,  kiss  my  father 
and  my  mother,  and  then  I  will  follow  thee." 
And  Elijah  replied,  "Go  back  again:  for  what 
have  I  done  to  thee?" 

And  the  matter  of  courtesy  toward  a  religious 
service  m  which  we  do  not  believe,  was  settled 
once  for  all  by  Elisha.  After  Naaman  had  been 
cured  of  leprosy,  he  told  Elisha  that  of  course 
the  God  of  Israel  was  the  only  true  God,  and 
he  would  worship  Him  for  the  rest  of  his  life. 
But  he  was  troubled  by  a  matter  that  might  be 
called  religious  etiquette.  He  is  going  back  to 
serve  his  royal  master  the  king  of  Syria,  and 
how  shall  he  behave  in  the  house  of  Rimmon 
where  the  king  worships? 

In  this  thing  the  Lord  pardon  thy  servant,  that 
when  my  master  goeth  into  the  house  of  Rimmon  to 
worship  there,  and  he  leaneth  on  my  hand,  and  I  bow 
myself  in  the  house  of  Rimmon:  when  I  bow  down 
myself  in  the  house  of  Rimmon,  the  Lord  pardon  thy 
servant  in  this  thing.  And  he  said  unto  him,  Go  in 
peace. 

Pastoral  literature,  which  is  a  form  by  itself, 
has  few  good  illustrations  in  native  English,  for 


Reading  the  Bible  31 

our  pastorals  from  Spenser  and  William  Browne 
down  to  the  nineteenth  century,  are  marred  by 
artificiality  and  indeed  by  insipidity.  I  sup- 
pose the  best  pastorals  in  secular  Hterature  are 
the  first,  those  by  Theocritus.  Yet  even  the 
Sicilian  masterpieces  are  inferior  to  a  specimen 
found  in  the  Bible,  the  book  of  Ruth.  This 
wonderful  idyl  of  the  farm,  told  in  an  impec- 
cable style  by  the  old  Hebrew  writer,  must 
forever  remain  supreme  and  unapproachable. 
The  economy  of  words  is  striking;  in  the  narra- 
tive of  David's  great-grandmother,  there  is  not 
a  superfluous  sentence.  The  suppressed  passion 
in  this  tale  has  been  felt  by  all  intelligent 
readers;  and  Keats,  with  his  genius  for  beauty 
of  feeling  and  beauty  of  tone,  has  arrested  the 
lonely  figure  of  Ruth  in  the  grain-field,  where 
she  stands  in  immortal  loveliness  like  the 
images  on  the  Greek  urn. 

Perhaps  the  self-same  song  that  found  a  path 
Through  the  sad  heart  of  Ruth,  when  sick  for  home, 
She  stood  in  tears  amid  the  alien  corn. 

Epistolary  literature  in  the  New  Testament 
reached  its  climax.  There  are  no  letters  in  the 
history  of  the  pen  like  the  letters  of  John,  and 


32  Reading  the  Bible 

James,  and  Peter,  and  Paul.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  improve  on  James's  comment  on 
pure  religion,  or  on  his  account  of  that  untame- 
able  creature,  the  tongue.  Whilst  the  short 
letter  by  Jude  is  inferior  to  those  written  by  the 
great  four,  it  contains  a  description  of  certain 
ungodly  men  mightily  effective. 

Raging  waves  of  the  sea,  foaming  out  their  own 
shame;  wandering  stars,  to  whom  is  reserved  the  black- 
ness of  darkness  forever. 

Although  there  are  no  books  in  the  Bible 
cast  in  the  form  of  a  play,  there  are  not  many 
dramatic  elevations  in  literature  loftier  than 
the  story  of  Esther,  Haman,  and  Mordecai;  of 
Samson,  the  strongest  man  in  the  world,  easy 
prey  to  a  woman;  of  Judith  and  Holof ernes;  of 
Aliab,  Jezebel,  and  Naboth.  These  are  pure 
drama.  And  in  these  dramas  of  terrific  passion, 
there  are  natural,  homely  touches  of  surprising 
realism,  that  seem  as  if  the  events  might  have 
happened  yesterday.  The  night  when  King 
Ahasuerus  was  wakeful,  and  after  trying  every 
expedient  to  induce  sleep,  finally  did  what  so 
many  of  us  did  some  night  last  week — he  sat  up 
in  bed  and  read  a  book.    He  merely  exercised 


Reading  the  Bible  33 

the  royal  prerogative,  and  had  the  book  read 
to  him. 

The  poetry  of  the  Old  Testament — especially 
in  the  books  Solomon's  Song,  Job,  Psalms, 
Isaiah, — excels  in  every  variety  of  poetical 
expression,  ranging  from  pure  lyrical  singing  to 
majestic  epic  harmonies.  The  most  conven- 
tional subject  for  a  poem  is  Spring,  and  among 
the  millions  of  tributes  to  the  mild  air  and  the 
awakening  earth,  none  is  more  beautiful  than 
the  passage  in  the  Song  of  Songs. 

My  beloved  spake,  and  said  unto  me,  Rise  up,  my 
love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away. 

For,  lo,  the  winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and  gone; 
The  flowers  appear  on  the  earth;  the  time  of  the  singing 
of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the  turtle  is  heard  in 
our  land; 

The  fig  tree  putteth  forth  her  green  figs,  and  the 
vines  with  the  tender  grape  give  a  good  smell.  Arise, 
my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away.  .  .  . 

My  beloved  is  mine,  and  I  am  his:  he  feedeth  among 
the  lilies. 

Until  the  day  break,  and  the  shadows  flee  away, 
turn,  my  beloved,  and  be  thou  like  a  roe  or  a  young 
hart  upon  the  mountains  of  Bether. 

As  Browning  began  what  is  perhaps  his  greatest 
work — the  Pope's  speech  in  the  Ring  and  the 


34  Reading  the  Bible 

Book — ^with  an  allusion  to  the  story  in  Esther, 
so,  in  giving  the  Pope's  tribute  to  the  soldier- 
saint  Caponsacchi,  he  borrowed  some  poetry 
from  Job.  It  is  worth  while  for  a  moment  to 
compare  the  original  and  Browning's  language, 
to  see  what  good  use  Browning  made  of  his 
Biblical  knowledge. 

Canst  thou  draw  out  leviathan  with  a  hook?  or  his 
tongue  with  a  cord  which  thou  lettest  down? 

Canst  thou  put  an  hook  into  his  nose?  or  bore  his 
jaw  through  with  a  thorn?  .  .  . 

Wilt  thou  play  with  him  as  with  a  bird?  or  wilt  thou 
bind  him  for  thy  maidens?  .  .  . 

His  heart  is  as  firm  as  a  stone;  yea,  as  hard  as  a 
piece  of  the  nether  millstone.  .  .  . 

He  maketh  a  path  to  shine  after  him;  one  would 
think  the  deep  to  be  hoary.  .  .  . 

He  beholdeth  all  high  things;  he  is  a  king  over  all 
the  children  of  pride. 

Browning,  in  the  Pope's  speech,  gives  some 
advice  to  the  teachers  of  young  men.  He  bids 
them  remember  the  strength,  passion,  and 
glory  of  youth,  and  not  expect  to  tame  ado- 
lescence with  petty  formalism,  or  v^dth  tiny 
devices.  And  suddenly  the  thought  of  Levia- 
than must  have  entered  his  mind,  for  the  Pope 
speaks 


Reading  the  Bible  35 

Irregular  noble  'scapegrace — son  the  same! 
Faulty — and  peradventure  ours  the  fault 
Who  still  misteach,  mislead,  throw  hook  and  line, 
Thinking  to  land  leviathan  forsooth, 
Tame  the  scaled  neck,  play  with  him  as  a  bird, 
And  bind  him  for  our  maidens!    Better  bear 
The  King  of  Pride  go  wantoning  awhile, 
Unplagued  by  cord  in  nose  and  thorn  in  jaw, 
Through  deep  to  deep,  followed  by  all  that  shine. 
Churning  the  blackness  hoary;  He  who  made 
The  comely  terror,  He  shall  make  the  sword 
To  match  that  piece  of  netherstone  his  heart. 

If  one  reads  the  book  of  Psalms  straight 
through,  no  matter  how  familiar  many  pas- 
sages may  be,  the  glory  and  splendour  of  the 
majestic  poetry  will  come  like  a  fresh  revela- 
tion; and  if  one  will  read  the  last  three  Psalms 
aloud,  one  will  feel  how  all  the  hymns  of  sorrow, 
delight,  repentance  and  adoration  unite  in  one 
grand  universal  chorus  of  praise. 

Praise  the  Lord  from  the  earth,  ye  dragons,  and  all 
deeps:  Fire  and  hail;  snow,  and  vapours;  stormy  wind 
fulfilling  his  word: 

Mountains,  and  all  hills;  fruitful  trees,  and  all  cedars: 
Beasts,  and  all  cattle;  creeping  things,  and  flying  fowl; 
Kings  of  the  earth,  and  all  people;  princes,  and  all 
judges  of  the  earth; 

Both  young  men,  and  maidens;  old  men,  and  chil- 


36  Reading  the  Bible 

dren.  .  .  .  Praise  ye  the  Lord.  Praise  God  in  his 
sanctuary:  praise  him  in  the  firmament  of  his  power. 

Praise  him  for  his  mighty  acts:  praise  him  according 
to  his  excellent  greatness. 

Praise  him  with  the  sound  of  the  trumpet:  praise 
him  with  the  psaltery  and  harp. 

Praise  him  with  the  timbrel  and  dance:  praise  him 
with  stringed  instruments  and  organs. 

Praise  him  upon  the  loud  cymbals:  praise  him  upon 
the  high  sounding  cymbals. 

Let  everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord. 
Praise  ye  the  Lord. 

Handel's  Messiah  is  the  greatest  of  all  ora- 
torios; sometimes  I  think  it  is  worth  all  other 
oratorios  put  together.  Handel  was  an  inspired 
genius.  When  he  wrote  the  Hallelujah  chorus, 
he  said  he  saw  the  heavens  opened  and  the  Son 
of  God  sitting  in  glory,  and  I  have  no  doubt  he 
really  did.  He  was  fortunate  in  being  able  to 
match  deathless  words  with  sublime  music. 
Much  of  the  grandeur  of  his  work  is  owing  to 
the  poetry,  and  especially  to  the  parts  taken 
from  the  prophet  Isaiah.  Passages  of  stem 
authority  alternate  with  ineffable  tenderness. 

Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  moimtain 
and  hill  shall  be  made  low:  and  the  crooked  shall  be 
made  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain: 


Reading  the  Bible  37 

And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and  all 
flesh  shall  see  it  together:  .  .  , 

He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd:  he  shall  gather 
the  lambs  with  his  arm,  and  carry  them  in  his  bosom, 
and  shall  gently  lead  those  that  are  with  young. 

The  poetry  of  the  Bible  is  not  only  the  high- 
est poetry  to  be  found  anywhere  in  literature, 
it  contains  the  essence  of  all  religion,  so  far  as 
religion  consists  in  aspiration.  In  tliis  way 
Job,  the  Psalms,  and  Isaiah  contain  an  eternal 
element  of  truth,  that  no  advance  in  the  world's 
thought  can  make  obsolete.  Through  such 
poetry  rather  than  through  any  formal  creed, 
man  is  lifted  into  a  communion  with  the  Divine 
Spirit.  For  in  these  immortal  poems,  which 
express  a  fundamental  and  imiversal  passion, 
the  human  soul  rises  to  that  elevation  which 
brings  assurance  and  peace. 

The  Bible  contains  not  only  the  finest  histor- 
ical prose,  and  the  finest  lyric  and  epic  poetry; 
in  philosophy,  practical  wisdom,  and  political 
economy  it  is  also  supreme.  Modem  pessimism, 
even  in  the  great  artist  Schopenhauer,  finds 
no  more  beautiful  expression  than  in  the  book 
of  Ecclesiastes;  and  the  ancient  pessimist  has 
a  better  key  to  the  riddle  of  life  than  asceticism. 


38  Reading  the  Bible 

His  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  is  to  fear 
God  and  keep  His  commandments. 

The  pohtical  economy  taught  in  the  Gospels 
is  not  only  better  for  humanity  to  follow  as  a 
practical  guide,  it  is  more  deeply  based  on  fact 
than  the  treatises  of  John  Stuart  Mill  or  any 
other  classic  authority.  In  the  preface  to 
Androcles  and  the  Lion,  Bernard  Shaw  says 
that  humanity  can  never  solve  the  problems 
of  society,  can  never  arrange  the  social  struc- 
ture properly,  until  the  teaching  of  Jesus  is 
followed.  He  believes  that  Jesus  knew  more 
about  such  things  than  any  modem  student. 
It  looks  to-day  as  though  all  progress  was  an 
attempt,  naturally  through  much  failure  and 
frequent  relapse,  to  apply  the  doctrines  of 
Jesus  Christ.  And  I  think  that  in  four  or  five 
centuries,  say,  in  the  year  2500,  humanity  will 
be  nearer  that  goal  than  it  is  to-day. 

Even  those  who  do  not  believe  that  the 
Bible  is  the  revelation  of  God,  will  admit  that 
it  is  the  supreme  revelation  of  man.  There  is 
more  revelation  of  man's  weakness  and  strength, 
man's  capacity  for  evil  and  for  good,  in  the 
Bible  than  can  be  found  in  Shakespeare  and 
all  the  dramatists  of  the  world.    It  is  the  most 


Reading  the  Bible  39 

human  of  all  books.  And  it  is  true  in  its  de- 
piction of  human  nature  as  naturally  sinful;  it 
does  not  flatter;  men  are  instinctively  bad,  and 
therefore  need  not  palliatives,  but  regeneration. 
The  basest  deeds  of  which  men  and  women  are 
capable  are  faithfully  recorded;  and  the  great- 
est Personality  in  history  clearly  set  forth. 
Religion,  in  its  combination  of  reverence  and 
conduct,  the  attitude  to  God  and  the  attitude 
to  man,  was  understood  by  the  old  prophets; 
they  had  a  passion  for  spiritual  worship  and  a 
passion  for  right  living.  When  President  Eliot 
was  requested  by  the  authorities  at  Washington 
to  select  a  sentence  for  a  conspicuous  place  in 
the  great  Library,  he  said  there  was  nothing  in 
the  history  of  literature  more  worthy  than  a 
pair  of  lines  from  the  prophet  Micah.  Accord- 
ingly there  they  stand,  as  true  in  the  twentieth 
century  as  when  they  were  first  uttered: 

What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly, 
and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God? 

The  practical  wisdom  expressed  in  the  book 
of  Proverbs  has  not  been  surpassed  by  any  of 
our  modem  wise  men.  Nor  has  it  yet  become 
stale.    The  wisest  men  to-day  have  nothing  to 


40  Reading  the  Bible 

add  in  the  way  of  a  guide  to  life,  to  this  collec- 
tion of  ancient  Jewish  wisdom,  compiled  from 
long  observation  and  experience.  Sensuality 
is  still  a  guidepost  to  the  grave,  and  a  soft 
answer  still  turns  away  wrath.  In  the  midst  of 
the  bewildering  changes  not  only  in  women's 
garments,  but  in  women's  activities,  the  two- 
verse  sketch  in  the  last  chapter  of  Proverbs 
still  represents  the  ideal  woman: 

Strength  and  honour  are  her  clothing;  and  she  shall 
rejoice  in  time  to  come. 

She  openeth  her  mouth  with  wisdom;  and  in  her 
tongue  is  the  law  of  kindness. 

But  of  all  the  sagacity  in  this  extraordinary 
book,  the  finest  both  in  thought  and  expression, 
is  to  be  found  in  the  penultimate  chapter. 
After  enumerating  four  inexplicable  problems, 
ending  charmingly  with  "the  way  of  a  man 
with  a  maid,"  which  has  been  the  stock  subject 
of  the  drama  and  the  novel  for  many  centuries, 
the  allusion  to  the  adulterous  woman  seems  at 
first  to  be  an  anti-climax.  But  a  little  reflection 
convinces  us  that  her  self-satisfaction  is  after 
all  the  most  inexphcable  thing  in  the  world. 
The  things  which  disquieted  (excellent  word) 


Reading  the  Bible  41 

the  earth  then,  disquiet  it  now:  the  servant 
reigning,  and  the  handmaid  heir  to  her  mistress 
are  ruining  Russia,  and  disquieting  the  world; 
a  fool  with  a  hearty  dinner  inside  his  carcass 
is  insufferable,  and  an  odious  woman  when  she 
is  married  becomes  even  more  offensive.  Then 
follow  the  immortal  four  illustrations  of  wis- 
dom, unconscious  examples  of  great  ideas:  the 
ants,  who  can  their  food  in  the  summer:  the 
feeble  conies,  who  seek  secure  shelter;  the 
locusts,  who  govern  themselves  constitution- 
ally; the  ugly  spider,  who  Hves  aloft  in  palatial 
surroundings.  Good  things: — Foresight:  Se- 
curity: Cooperation:  Aspiration. 

For  the  last  sixty  years,  the  chief  intellectual 
passion  of  educated  men  and  women  has  been 
the  passion  for  truth.  Never  has  truth  been  so 
loved,  and  followed  with  such  devotion.  It  is 
worth  remembering  that  in  the  first  book  of 
Esdras  in  the  Apocrypha,  this  passion  for  truth 
was  expressed  in  final  and  impressive  words, 
together  with  a  picture  of  other  forces  as  true 
to-day  as  then,  and  in  one  aspect  amazingly 
applicable  to  the  years  from  i9i4to  1918.  The 
three  young  men  who  competed  for  the  prize 
of  declaring  what  was  the  strongest  tiling  on 


4-2  Reading  the  Bible 

earth,  wrote  their  opinions  in  secret,  and  de- 
fended them  in  public.  The  first  wrote.  Wine 
is  the  strongest:  the  second.  The  king  is  the 
strongest:  the  third.  Women  are  strongest:  but 
above  all  things  truth  beareth  away  the  victory. 
The  man  who  defended  the  second  proposition 
might  easily  have  been  referring  to  Kaiser 
Wilhelm  II,  and  to  the  organisation  of  his 
forces  for  war,  some  for  fighting,  some  for  the 
conservation  of  food: 

If  he  bid  them  make  war  the  one  against  the  other, 
they  do  it;  if  he  send  them  out  against  the  enemies, 
they  go,  and  break  down  mountains,  walls,  and  towers. 

They  slay  and  are  slain,  and  transgress  not  the 
king's  commandment;  if  they  get  the  victory,  they 
bring  all  to  the  king,  as  well  the  spoil,  as  all  things  else. 

Likewise  for  those  that  are  no  soldiers  and  have 
not  to  do  with  wars,  but  use  husbandry,  when  they 
have  reaped  again  that  which  they  had  sown,  they 
bring  it  to  the  king,  and  compel  one  another  to  bring 
tribute  to  the  king.  And  yet  he  is  but  one  man:  if 
he  command  to  kill,  they  kill;  if  he  command  to  spare, 
they  spare; 

If  he  command  to  smite,  they  smite;  if  he  command 
to  make  desolate,  they  make  desolate;  if  he  command 
to  build,  they  build; 

If  he  command  to  cut  down,  they  cut  down;  if  he 
command  to  plant,  they  plant.    So  all  his  people  and 


Reading  the  Bible  43 

his  armies  obey  him;  furthermore  he  lieth  down,  he 
eateth  and  drinketh,  and  taketh  his  rest: 

And  these  keep  watch  round  about  him,  neither 
may  any  one  depart,  and  do  his  own  business,  neither 
disobey  they  him  in  anything. 

Then  the  third  youth,  after  a  witty  and  piquant 
tribute  to  the  power  of  women,  began  to  speak 
of  the  truth. 

Wine  is  wicked,  the  king  is  wicked,  women  are 
wicked,  and  such  are  all  their  wicked  works;  and  there 
is  no  truth  in  them;  in  their  unrighteousness  also  they 
shall  perish. 

As  for  the  truth,  it  endureth,  and  is  always  strong; 
it  liveth  and  conquereth  forevermore.  .  .  . 

With  her  there  is  no  accepting  of  persons  or  rewards. 

Neither  in  her  judgment  is  any  unrighteousness; 
and  she  is  the  strength,  kingdom,  power,  and  majesty 
of  all  ages. 

Blessed  be  the  God  of  truth. 

And  with  that  he  held  his  peace.  And  all  the  people 
then  shouted,  and  said.  Great  is  truth,  and  mighty 
above  all  things. 

I  would  give  much  if  I  knew  the  tone  of  Pilate's 
voice,  or  the  expression  on  his  face,  or  his 
particular  impeUing  thought,  when  he  asked 
our  Lord  the  question,  Wfiat  is  truth?    Jesus 


44  Reading  the  Bible 

had  just  spoken  of  the  permanent  importance 
of  truth.  "To  this  end  was  I  bom,  and  for  this 
cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should  bear 
witness  unto  the  truth.  Every  one  that  is  of 
the  truth  heareth  my  voice.  Pilate  saith  unto 
him,  What  is  truth?"  and  immediately  went 
out  and  declared  that  he  found  no  fault  in  the 
accused  person.  Bacon  begins  his  first  essay 
w^ith  the  words  "What  is  Truth?  said  jesting 
Pilate;  and  would  not  stay  for  an  answer." 
But  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  Pilate  was  jest- 
ing; in  the  New  Testament  narrative,  Pilate's 
bearing  was  serious  and  dignified.  The  Pilate 
of  the  Mystery  Plays  was  at  times  jocose  and 
it  is  more  than  possible  that  Bacon  had  the 
stage  Pilate  in  mind,  as  Shakespeare  had  the 
stage  Herod,  though  I  have  never  heard  this 
explanation  suggested.  Martin  Luther,  if  I 
understand  him  correctly,  regarded  Pilate's 
question  as  coming  from  a  practical  politician. 
What  good  is  truth  in  an  emergency  like  this? 
What  you  want  is  not  truth;  what  you  need  is 
some  practical  scheme  to  get  you  out  of  this 
fix.  It  would  be  I  suppose  like  the  complacency 
of  the  "regular"  candidate:  you  may  have  the 
truth  on  your  side,  but  I  have  the  delegates. 


Reading  the  Bible  45 

Possibly  all  Pilate  meant  was  to  express  his 
impatience  tinctured  with  dismay,  that  Jesus, 
in  such  a  dangerous  moment,  should  begin 
talking  about  an  abstraction  like  truth.  Then 
the  question  would  simply  mean.  What  is  the 
use  now  of  talking  about  truth?  Pilate  regarded 
Jesus  as  a  harmless  dreamer,  and  yet  there  was 
something  puzzlingly  impressive  about  Him. 
The  Romans,  exactly  the  opposite  of  the  Rus- 
sians, were  eminently  practical;  pure  theory 
had  little  interest  for  them,  and  to  discuss 
an  abstract  question  was  at  best  a  waste  of 
time. 

Some  one  has  profanely  remarked  that  even 
God  Himself  could  not  answer  Pilate's  ques- 
tion. At  all  events,  it  remained  unanswered, 
and  the  answer  would  have  been  as  incompre- 
hensible to  Pilate  as  the  kingship  of  the  speaker. 

The  scene  is  one  of  the  most  dramatic  in 
literature.  The  powerful  Roman  official,  with 
the  whole  force  of  the  Empire  behind  liim,  is 
confronted  by  a  quiet  figure,  unaggressive  but 
unterrified,  the  only  serene  person  in  the  hall. 
The  words  of  our  Lord  are  a  divine  echo  of  the 
famous  testimony  of  the  young  man  in  the 
Book  of  Esdras. 


4-6  Reading  the  Bible 

As  for  the  truth,  it  endureth,  and  is  always  strong: 
it  liveth  and  conquereth  forevermore. 

With  her  there  is  no  accepting  of  persons  or  rewards. 

Neither  in  her  judgment  is  any  unrighteousness; 
and  she  is  the  strength,  kingdom,  power  and  majesty  of 
all  ages. 

The  impotence  of  physical  force  to  destroy 
truth  has  been  proved  many  times,  but  it  is  a 
fact  always  impressive  in  retrospect.  History 
is  full  of  dramatic  contrasts.  After  reading 
the  scurrilous  attacks  made  by  Aristophanes 
on  Socrates,  one  cannot  help  thinking  to-day 
that  the  figure  of  the  dramatist,  piteously 
beggiQg  the  Athenians  for  the  prize,  contrasts 
harshly  with  the  sohtary  grandeur  of  Socrates 
standing  before  his  accusers,  perfectly  calm  in 
the  contemplation  of  the  grave.  And  the  con- 
trast between  the  friendless  prisoner  and  the 
mighty  Roman,  who  imagined  he  had  final 
power  over  Him,  imposes  itself  on  every  one 
who  reads  the  Gospel  narrative.  I  came  into 
the  world  to  bear  witness  unto  the  truth.  This 
is  God's  world,  not  the  Roman's  nor  the  Jew's; 
He  rules  it.  I  die  on  the  cross;  but  truth, 
honour,  morality  do  not  die;  my  death  is  a  wit- 
ness for  all  time  to  the  supremacy  of  Truth. 


n 

ST.    PAUL   AS   A   LETTER-WRITER 

THE  fact  that  I  have  never  studied  theology 
or  New  Testament  interpretation  gives 
me  a  possible  advantage  in  the  darkness  of 
ignorance.  In  one  of  the  stories  of  Captain 
Marryat,  an  untrained  man  was  compelled  to 
fight  a  duel  with  swords  against  a  trained 
opponent;  his  skillful  antagonist,  expecting  the 
usual  formal  thrust  and  parry,  was  killed  on 
the  first  lunge.  So,  in  giasping  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  I  find  myself  unhampered  by  any  theo- 
logical or  textual  code.  No  one  regrets  my 
lack  of  learning  more  than  I;  but  my  method 
at  all  events  has  the  advantage  of  simplicity. 
I  shall  take  up  the  letters  of  Paul  as  I  take  up 
the  letters  of  Emerson,  and  read  them  as  ex- 
amples of  epistolary  literature.  I  have  no 
theory  to  estabhsh  and  no  systematic  doctrine. 
At  what  date  each  letter  was  written,  what 
corruptions  if  any  have  corroded  the  text, 
whether  Paul  wrote  all  or  only  some  of  them, 

47 


48  Reading  the  Bible 

are  for  the  moment  questions  of  minor  impor- 
tance; what  we  know  for  certain  is  that  we  have 
before  us,  in  the  incomparable  English  of  161 1, 
a  collection  of  letters  which  discuss  everything 
of  human  interest  from  God  to  overcoats, 
which  reveal  a  brilliant,  passionate  personality, 
and  which  have  had  a  prodigious  effect  on  the 
development  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 

Dante,  Milton,  Bunyan  have  each  and  all 
helped  to  shape  our  conceptions  of  God,  of  the 
future,  of  sin  and  salvation;  but  the  formative 
influence  of  Paul's  letters  has  been  and  still  is 
greater  than  that  of  these  three  writers  com- 
bined. Paul  arrived  exactly  on  time  to  aid  in 
the  spread  of  the  Christian  religion;  for  he  was 
both  a  philosopher  and  a  man  of  action.  He 
was  a  profound  thinker  and  a  persuasive  advo- 
cate. He  was  devoted  to  introspection  and 
liked  to  travel.  His  love  of  metaphysics  did 
not  prevent  him  from  being  a  successful  advance 
agent  of  Christianity,  carrying  with  him  every- 
where an  excellent  sample  of  the  article  he 
wished  to  distribute.  His  letters  are  full  of 
pure  and  applied  religion.  He  deals  especially 
with  the  practical  problems  that  confront 
young  students — the  temptations  of  the  mind 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  49 

and  the  temptations  of  the  body.  He  has  been 
well  called  the  "college  man's  apostle." 

The  year  of  his  birth  is  not  known,  but  he 
was  probably  about  the  same  age  as  Jesus,  for 
at  the  stoning  of  Stephen,  he  is  called  a  young 
man.  That  might  mean  anything  from  seven- 
teen to  thirty-five.  The  rather  important  role 
he  played  in  persecutions  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate manhood.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fact 
that  at  the  murder  of  Stephen  he  took  care  of 
the  clothes,  just  as  small  boys  to-day  hold  coats 
for  their  big  brothers,  would  indicate  youth; 
and  his  zeal  in  persecution  would  harmonise 
with  mental  immaturity.  I  like  to  think  of  him 
as  younger  than  Jesus,  and  I  think  of  Jesus  as 
forever  young. 

Paul  was  bom  at  Tarsus,  in  Cilicia,  in  Asia 
Minor.  It  was  a  city  of  importance,  both  for 
its  commercial  industry  and  for  its  learning. 
Paul  has  every  mark  of  being  city  bred;  there 
is  notliing  provincial  about  his  way  of  thought. 
The  union  in  Tarsus  of  Greek  culture  with 
Yankee  enterprise  was  typical  of  Paul's  own 
temperament.  His  father  was  a  Jew,  and 
belonged  to  the  narrowest  sect  of  the  Pharisees, 
so  that  probably  Paul  was  educated  as  sternly 


50  Reading  the  Bible 

and  strictly  as  our  Puritan  ancestors  in  New 
England.  In  austerity  and  alertness,  he  was  a 
combination  of  Jonathan  Edwards  and  Ben- 
jamin Franklin.  His  father  was  a  Roman 
citizen;  and  so  Paul  was  a  free-bom  Roman  as 
well  as  a  Jew,  a  privilege  which  gave  him  c*. 
trump  card  in  the  game  of  life. 

He  seems  to  have  made  a  journey  to  Jerusa- 
lem, with  the  intention  of  becoming  a  Rabbi; 
and  in  order  to  maintain  himself  while  study- 
ing— analogous  to  the  modern  custom  of  work- 
ing one's  way  through  college — he  learned  the 
trade  of  a  tent-maker,  at  which  he  turned  many 
an  honest  penny  in  later  years.  Thus  early  he 
displayed  the  passion  for  righteousness  and  the 
passion  for  business  characteristic  of  his  race. 

Jerusalem,  was  the  centre  of  Jewish  learning; 
and  the  ambitious  boy  was  fortunate  in  study- 
ing under  a  famous  professor,  Gamahel.  Al- 
though this  wise  man  had  a  reputation  for 
tolerance,  Paul  became  a  narrow  and  bitter 
Jewish  partisan.  Yet  as  every  good  teacher 
sows  seed  that  sometimes  comes  to  fruition 
only  after  many  years,  who  knows  but  that  in 
the  marvellous  words  of  Paul  on  Charity,  we 
behold  the  green  leaves  of  old  Gamaliel? 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  51 

The  curriculum,  like  that  of  Oxford  and 
Cambridge  in  the  eighteenth  centur>',  was  not 
broad,  but  it  was  decidedly  intensive.  It  knew 
little  of  the  elective  system.  It  consisted  of  a 
study  of  the  Old  Testament,  with  commentaries 
thereupon.  Paul  obtained  a  sound  and  accu- 
rate knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  which  he 
turned  to  account  in  his  later  work  among  the 
Jews.  His  Letters  abound  in  Biblical  quota- 
tions. ^i_  r-, 

Paul  was  graduated  from  Jerusalem  a  zealous, 
learned  Jew.  What  does  this  mean?  It  means 
that  he  believed  the  only  way  to  righteousness 
was  to  keep  in  detail  the  Jewish  law;  not  only 
its  moral  precepts,  but  its  technical  formalities. 
This  explains  why  Paul  was  so  bitter  against 
the  dead  Jesus  and  His  followers.  Like  an 
orthodox  party  man  in  church  and  politics,  he 
viewed  with  alarm  the  teachings  of  the  disciples 
of  Jesus,  for  he  believed  them  to  be  not  only 
heretical,  but  subversive,  revolutionary.  And 
his  instinct,  whether  commendable  or  not,  was 
correct;  they  were  exactly  what  he  thought 
they  were,  irreconcilable  with  the  religious  and 
social  order  in  which  he  was  brought  up.  A 
cardinal  idea  in  the  teachings  of  Jesus  is  that 


52  Reading  the  Bible 

righteousness  is  a  matter  of  the  heart;  forms 
and  ceremonies  are  relatively  unimportant. 
The  coolness  with  which  the  greatest  Demo- 
crat of  all  time  jettisoned  the  cargo  of  orthodox 
ordinances  caused  priests  to  hold  up  their 
hands  in  horror.  Paul  was  convinced  that 
the  Christian  sect  must  be  exterminated;  and 
he  gazed  admiringly  at  the  torture  of  Stephen, 
feeling  certain  of  the  approval  of  Jehovah. 

While  seeking  fresh  worlds  to  conquer,  he 
learned  that  the  Christian  disease  had  broken 
out  in  Damascus;  he  obtained  credentials 
from  the  high  priest,  and  started  for  that  city, 
his  object  being  to  arrest  and  carry  to  Jeru- 
salem all  the  criminals  he  could  catch.  When 
he  came  near  Damascus,  he  saw  a  great  Hght, 
and  was  converted.  From  the  Christian  point 
of  view,  what  happened  to  him  was  natural 
enough;  man  does  not  always  seek  God,  but  God 
is  forever  seeking  man,  the  sole  object  of  the 
appearance  of  Christ  on  earth.  The  Hound  of 
Heaven  was  on  his  trail,  and  caught  him  on  the 
broad  road  to  disaster. 

Paul  was  not  the  man  to  do  anything  by 
halves.  As  soon  as  he  was  baptised,  he  became 
active,  beginning  with  his  neighbours  in  Damas- 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  53 

cus,  preaching  for  the  new  cause  with  the  old 
vigour.  The  Jews  naturally  regarded  him  as  a 
traitor,  the  inevitable  fate  of  one  who  changes 
his  convictions  on  any  question  of  general 
concern.  He  escaped  to  Jerusalem,  and  had  to 
escape  from  it.  After  his  flight,  he  went  back 
to  his  native  town  and  stayed  there  for  years. 
He  seems  to  have  Hved  quietly,  but  was  evi- 
dently not  forgotten,  because  Barnabas  came 
after  him,  brought  him  to  Antioch,  and  there 
the  two  friends  worked  together  for  twelve 
months. 

Antioch  was  a  large  and  famous  city,  and  the 
new  faith  took  such  hold  there  that  the  disci- 
ples in  this  place  were  first  called  Christians. 

Paul  now  went  on  a  missionary  journey, 
wdth  Barnabas.  He  meant  to  work  mainly 
among  the  Jews,  but  he  received  such  cold 
treatment  that  he  turned  more  and  more  to 
others,  and  thus  after  this  journey  he  became 
the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  When  the 
two  men  started  out,  it  was  Barnabas  and 
Paul;  when  they  returned,  it  was  Paul  and 
Barnabas.  Paul's  supremacy  as  a  Christian 
preacher  has  never  been  challenged  from  that 
day  to  this. 


54  Reading  the  Bible 

Not  only  were  many  individuals  converted 
to  Christianity,  but  churches  were  founded; 
and  by  visiting  them  again  on  the  way  home, 
Paul  succeeded  in  establishing  them  more 
firmly.  On  the  second  missionary  journey, 
Paul  went  over  into  Europe,  planting  the  faith 
in  Western  civilisation.  The  result  of  this 
expedition  exceeded  his  wildest  dreams,  for  he 
actually  changed  the  currents  of  Western 
thought,  and  we  are  all  different  to-day  from 
what  we  should  have  been  had  he  restricted 
his  wanderings.  It  was  on  this  trip  that  he 
met  Dr.  Luke,  and  thus  we  get  our  account  of 
Paul  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Obtaining 
httle  success  with  either  the  Jews  or  the  edu- 
cated Athenians,  he  came  more  and  more  into 
contact  with  the  poor  and  lowly  Gentiles, 
giving  him  much  valuable  training  in  clear 
exposition,  and  in  knowledge  of  human  nature. 

Paul's  lack  of  success  with  the  cultivated 
Greeks  is  only  what  might  have  been  expected. 
Browning  has  dramatically  voiced  it  in  the 
poem  Cleon.  The  intellectual  poet  is  vexed  at 
the  king's  curiosity  about  an  itinerant  pedlar 
of  religion.  Yet  though  Cleon's  armour  of 
culture  is  impenetrable,  he  is  a  witness  to  the 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  55 

rising  tide  of  Christianity,  making  its  way 
among  the  do\vntrodden  and  oppressed. 

Thuu  canst  not  think  a  mere  barbarian  Jew 

As  Paulus  proves  to  be,  one  circumcised, 

Hath  access  to  a  secret  shut  from  us? 

Thou  wrongest  our  philosophy,  O  King, 

In  stooping  to  inquire  of  such  an  one. 

As  if  his  answer  could  impose  at  all ! 

He  writeth,  doth  he?    Well,  and  he  may  WTite. 

Oh,  the  Jew  findeth  scholars!  certain  slaves 

Who  touched  on  this  same  isle,  preached  him  and  Christ; 

And  (as  I  gathered  from  a  bystander) 

Their  doctrine  could  be  held  by  no  sane  man. 

During  the  second  missionary  journey,  Paul 
wrote  the  two  letters  to  the  Thessalonians, 
which  were  probably  composed  at  Corinth. 

His  third  missionary  journey  included  a 
fifth  visit  to  Jerusalem.  At  Ephesus,  the  me- 
tropolis of  Asia  Minor,  Paul  remained  thi-ee 
years,  fighting  Paganism.  Here  he  met  the 
orator  ApoUos,  who  was  one  of  the  disciples  of 
John  the  Baptist;  and  whose  vigour  in  preaching 
showed  that  John's  influence  had  not  been  cut 
off  so  easily  as  his  head.  The  difference  be- 
tween the  eloquence  of  Apollos  and  the  elo- 
quence of  Paul  was  the  same  that,  according  to 


56  Reading  the  Bible 

Mommsen,  separated  the  eloquence  of  Cicero 
from  the  eloquence  of  Caesar.  That  of  the 
former  was  characterised  by  rounded  periods; 
that  of  the  latter,  by  deeply-felt  thought. 

On  his  third  journey  Paul  seems  to  have 
written  the  two  letters  to  the  Corinthians,  the 
letter  to  the  Galatians,  and  to  the  Romans. 

Why  he  undertook  the  fifth  journey  to  Jeru- 
salem with  such  eagerness  we  hardly  know. 
He  had  collected  some  money  for  the  poor 
there,  and  perhaps  wished  to  distribute  it  in 
person.  Nearly  sixty  years  old,  worn  out  with 
almost  incredible  hardships,  he  met  with 
prophets  of  evil  along  the  road,  who  vainly 
tried  to  dissuade  him  from  his  purpose.  He 
reached  Jerusalem  at  the  Feast  of  the  Pentecost, 
a  time  when  crowds  of  Jews  had  flocked  to  the 
Holy  City.  Excitement  was  running  high; 
many  of  the  pilgrims  came  from  places  where 
they  had  heard  the  new  evangelist,  and  when 
they  saw  him  in  Jerusalem,  their  anger  knew 
no  bounds.  Paul  could  not  reasonably  com- 
plain of  their  treatment;  for  that  was  just 
the  method  he  had  used  with  seditious 
Christians. 

In  Cesarea  Paul  remained  two  years  in  cap- 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  57 

tivity,  one  of  the  best  things  that  ever  happened 
to  him.  He  needed  rest,  and  the  only  way  he 
could  get  it  was  by  going  to  jail.  During  this 
enforced  idleness,  his  mind  was  active,  as  sub- 
sequent letters  show.  He  might  have  been  set 
at  Hberty  at  once,  for  Felix  the  Roman  knew 
well  enough  that  Paul  was  no  criminal.  Prob- 
ably Felix  hoped  that  a  bribe  would  be  offered, 
but  Paul  was  not  the  kind  of  man  to  buy  his 
way  out  of  prison.  If  he  had  not  been  a  Roman 
citizen,  he  would  have  been  treated  more 
harshly.  His  Jewish  enemies  watched  him  as 
a  cat  would  watch  a  mouse  in  a  cage.  As  soon 
as  Felix  was  succeeded  by  Festus,  they  eagerly 
besought  the  new  official  to  give  him  up.  But 
Paul  appealed  to  Caesar,  which  left  nothing  for 
Festus  to  do  but  to  send  him  to  Rome.  Paul 
had  always  wanted  to  go  to  Rome,  and  here 
was  a  chance  to  travel  thither  at  the  expense 
of  the  state. 

It  is  interesting  to  remember  what  excellent 
and  fair-minded  Roman  officials  appear  in  the 
New  Testament.  Pilate  displayed  considerable 
wisdom  and  courage;  GalUo  refused  to  bother 
himself  with  sectarian  controversies,  being  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  governing  the  people. 


S8  Reading  the  Bible 

and  having  no  time  for  petty  affairs;  Felix, 
Festus,  and  Lysias  were  sensible  and  humane. 

King  Agrippa,  in  whose  presence  Paul  was 
tried,  was  what  Bernard  Shaw  would  call  a 
rubber-stamp  King;  an  empty  title,  for  he  had 
Httle  power,  and  even  his  thinking  was  done 
for  him,  as  is  still  the  fortunate  custom  in 
constitutional  monarchies.  This  was  no  ju- 
dicial trial,  but  rather  a  parlour  performance, 
which  Festus  arranged  for  the  entertainment 
of  his  guest. 

At  Rome  Paul  remained  two  years,  living  in 
practical  freedom,  although  accompanied  al- 
ways by  one  soldier,  who,  I  dare  say,  was  often 
an  agreeable  companion.  He  preached  and 
conversed,  making  many  conquests  among  the 
Gentiles,  among  the  Roman  soldiers  who 
guarded  him,  and  even  among  Caesar's  house- 
hold. He  lived  in  his  own  hired  house,  and 
seems  to  have  passed  his  days  in  cheerful 
activity.  What  became  of  him  after  this  ex- 
perience, nobody  knows. 

Every  now  and  then  the  course  of  literature 
is  disturbed  by  the  appearance  of  a  man  who 
is  something  more  and  something  greater  than 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  59 

a  literary  artist;  some  one  is  bom  who  feels 
within  him  the  voice  of  a  prophetic  mission. 
Such  a  person  was  Socrates:  such  a  person  was 
Thomas  Carlyle.  These  men  exert  an  influence 
on  the  history  of  thought  merely  by  opening 
their  mouths  and  talking.  So  great  a  master 
of  oral  speech  was  Carlyle  that  I  feel  sure  that 
with  a  gifted  amanuensis,  he  could  have  af- 
fected the  modem  world  deeply  had  he  never 
put  pen  to  paper.  Socrates  talked  to  a  few 
friends  in  Athens  and  people  of  all  nations  still 
listen  to  him  eagerly.  The  supreme  illustra- 
tion is  our  Lord,  whose  brief  addresses  and 
intimate  conversations  have  changed  the  history 
of  the  world.  Everything  must  have  a  begin- 
ning; and  the  Christian  religion  began  in  the 
word  made  flesh  and  remade  into  the  living 
word.  Paul  relied  on  oratory  so  long  as  the 
Church  remained  within  narrow  geographical 
limits;  but  when,  owing  to  his  various  jour- 
neys, the  new  faith  spread  far  and  wide, 
he  was  naturally  forced  into  epistolary  ac- 
tivity. 

No  letters  have  ever  been  so  influential  as 
these;  for  although  they  were  written  to  par- 
ticular   groups    at    particular    times    and    for 


6o  Reading  the  Bible 

particular  reasons,  thousands  and  thousands 
of  men  and  women  in  the  twentieth  century 
read  them  as  if  they  were  addressed  directly  to 
themselves. 

In  everything  except  length,  these  letters 
are  more  like  letters  of  to-day  than  like  the 
polished  literary  efforts  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Gray,  Walpole,  Cowper  wrote  famil- 
iar epistles  in  beautifully  elaborate  EngUsh, 
and  often  with  conscious  rhetorical  effort; 
to-day,  as  some  one  has  said,  we  do  not  write 
letters,  we  write  only  telegrams.  Very  few 
business  or  personal  letters  show  any  care  for 
mere  style;  even  the  many  letters  written  to 
the  newspapers  show  less  interest  in  the  art  of 
phrasing  than  the  private  correspondence  of 
our  New  England  forefathers. 

It  is  often  said  that  cheap  postage  is  the 
cause  of  the  degeneration  of  epistolary'"  style; 
but  it  is  not  cheap  postage,  it  is  rather  the  lack 
of  time  that  makes  it  difficult  to  write  a  good 
letter.  The  reason  why  journalism  is  a  syno- 
nym for  bad  writing  is  not  because  the  journal- 
ists do  not  know  how  to  write,  it  is  because  they 
never  have  time  to  consider  their  sentences; 
hence  they  dress  thought  in  ready-made  clothes, 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  6i 

like  "all  was  bustle  and  confusion,"  "dull, 
sickening  thud,"  and  that  familiar  headline 

X  LAUDS  Y 

containing  a  verb  one  never  hears  and  seldom 
sees  outside  of  the  newspapers.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting fact  that  just  as  the  invention  of  labour- 
saving  machinery  meant  the  employment  of 
more  men  in  production  instead  of  less,  so  the 
invention  of  time-saving  devices  always  leaves 
those  who  use  them  with  less  leisure  than 
before.  Man  has  never  been  so  busy  as  he  is 
now,  when  he  talks  through  a  telephone,  dic- 
tates to  a  stenographer,  and  travels  in  an 
automobile. 

Paul's  Uterary  style,  except  at  moments  of 
exaltation,  lacks  grace  and  finish;  it  is  clumsy, 
involved,  twisted.  Sometimes  it  winds  itself 
up  in  many  folds,  like  a  boa  constrictor;  some- 
times it  is  as  brittle  as  a  Western  Union  night 
letter.  These  faults  must  be  charged  to  him, 
and  not  to  his  EngKsh  translators;  the  original 
loses  nothing  in  the  version  of  1611. 

Paul  was  too  busy  to  spend  much  time  on 
the  style  of  these  epistles;  they  were  written  at 
various  places,  in  moments  snatched  from  days 


62  Reading  the  Bible 

and  nights  of  chronic  activity.  Possibly  when 
he  wrote  "The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at 
hand,"  the  actual  dawn  was  breaking,  and  from 
the  streets  sounded  the  songs  of  home-going 
drunken  revellers.  They  are  offhand  and  im- 
promptu, composed  under  the  exigency  of  some 
crisis  in  the  particular  church  he  was  try- 
ing to  strengthen  in  the  new  faith.  His  cus- 
tom was  to  dictate,  and  then  when  he  signed 
his  name,  to  add  a  few  words  in  his  own  writing. 
The  letters  form  no  distinct  body  of  articulated 
doctrine;  the  theologians  who  came  after  him 
tried  with  more  or  less  success  to  codify  his 
rules.  Paul  evidently  meant  to  settle  special 
cases  as  they  came  up — and  he  settled  them 
all,  not  by  the  old  laws,  but  by  the  new  idea  of 
universal  love. 

^Vhat  his  style  loses  in  finish  and  grace,  it 
gains  in  vivacity  and  vigour.  The  style  has 
behind  it  the  impelling  force  of  white-hot 
sincerity.  Occasionally  it  rises  to  vertiginous 
heights.  What  are  now  called  the  thirteenth 
and  the  fifteenth  chapters  of  the  first  letter  to 
the  Corinthians  are  peaks  of  such  lofty  grandeur 
that  they  tower  above  everything  else  in  the 
world's  literature  except  the  actual  words  of 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  63 

Jesus  in  the  Gospels.  The  eminence  of  Jesus 
in  Hterary  art  is  as  unique  as  his  eminence  in 
morality. 

After  one  has  read  all  the  letters  of  Paul,  the 
character  of  the  writer  appears  with  clearness. 
Although  he  adapted  each  letter  to  the  partic- 
ular needs  of  the  recipients,  the  letters  taken 
together  reveal  a  portrait  vivid  enough  to 
arouse  the  en\y  of  John  Sargent.  We  get  a 
better  idea  of  the  true  nature  of  the  apostle 
from  these  letters  than  we  do  from  the  account 
in  the  Acts  written  by  Luke,  and  the  doctor  was 
an  excellent  chronicler.  Schopenhauer  said 
that  we  can  obtain  a  more  accurate  conception 
of  the  character  of  a  man  by  reading  one  of  his 
letters  than  we  can  from  a  personal  interview. 
Most  men  in  Schopenliauer's  day  wore  beards; 
and  the  great  pessimist  said  the  beard  was 
intended  by  nature  to  conceal  the  mouth,  the 
one  feature  of  the  face  that  betrayed  the  inten- 
tions of  its  owner.  He  added  that  with  women 
beards  were  unnecessary;  for  wdth  them,  dis- 
simulation was  inborn. 

The  first  letter  to  the  Thessalonians  was 
written  at  Corinth,  during  the  second  mission- 
ary journey,  and  perhaps  either  in  the  year  50 


64  Reading  the  Bible 

or  52.  Thessalonica,  or  as  it  is  more  tragically 
kno\Mi  in  the  twentieth  century,  Saloniki,  had 
been  visited  by  Paul  just  before  he  made  his 
visit  to  Athens  and  Corinth.  In  this  latter 
city  Silas  and  Timothy  came  to  see  him,  bring- 
ing the  latest  news  from  Thessalonica;  and  he 
was  prompted  therefore  to  write  the  earliest  of 
his  letters  which  have  come  down  to  us.  The 
second  letter  was  probably  written  a  few 
months  after  the  first,  while  Paul  was  still  at 
Corinth.  He  wrote  it  to  correct  some  misunder- 
stalidings  that  had  been  caused  by  the  preced- 
ing epistle,  chiefly  with  regard  to  the  Second 
Advent. 

At  that  time  Greece  was  divided  into  two 
parts — Macedonia  and  Achaia.  ;  Thessalonica 
was  the  capital  and  chief  city  of  Macedonia. 
It  was  a  highly  important  town,  and  partic- 
ularly important  then  and  now,  as  a  seaport. 
One  of  the  chief  manufactures  was  and  is  the 
making  of  goat's-hair  cloth.  This  enabled 
Paul  to  find  steady  employment  during  his 
sojourn  there. 

He  begins  the  letter  in  his  usual  diplomatic 
fashion  by  congratulating  them  heartily  on  the 
excellence  of  their  work,  for  which  he  thanks 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  65 

God.  He  exhorts  them  to  refrain  from  sensu- 
ahty,  and  to  become  good  citizens;  and  then 
he  speaks  of  the  second  coming  of  Christ, 
warning  them  to  be  ever  on  guard,  like  faithful 
sentinels.  The  all  but  universal  antipathy  to 
hard  work  caused  the  Thessalonians  to  argue, 
that  if  Christ  was  coming  again  so  soon,  there 
was  no  particular  reason  for  industry  of  any 
sort;  and  a  second  letter  became  necessary,  in 
which  he  told  them  not  to  be  weary  in  well 
doing.  After  he  had  finished  dictating  the 
letter,  he  added  in  his  own  writing. 

The  salutation  of  Paul  with  mine  own  hand,  which 
is  the  token  in  every  epistle:  so  I  write.  The  grace 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  be  with  you  all. 

The  Thessalonians  were  not  the  only  people 
who  used  the  imminence  of  the  second  coming 
as  an  excuse  for  shirking  work.  During  the 
famous  Dark  Day  in  Connecticut,  May  19, 
1780,  a  group  of  legislators  were  assembled  in 
Hartford,  to  transact  business  for  the  Common- 
wealth. When  the  darkness  deepened,  most 
of  the  statesmen  were  terrified,  and  some  fell 
on  their  knees.  I  have  always  admired  one 
man,  who  spoke  out  loud  and  bold,  saying, 


66  Reading  the  Bible 

"This  is  either  the  second  coming  of  Christ  or 
it  is  not;  if  it  is  not,  we  are  all  making  fools  out 
of  ourselves.  If  it  is,  the  Lord  cannot  find  us 
in  any  better  attitude  than  attending  to  the 
work  for  which  we  are  here.  I  move  that  the 
candles  be  brought  in,  and  that  we  proceed  to 
business." 

The  two  letters  to  the  Corinthians  were 
probably  written  during  the  third  missionary 
journey,  in  57  or  58  or  possibly  earlier.  The 
first  he  wrote  at  Ephesus,  the  second  at  Phil- 
ippi  or  in  some  part  of  Macedonia.  Only  a 
few  months  came  between  the  two,  and  there 
is  apparently  a  third  letter  which  is  lost.  As 
we  have  seen,  Paul  was  at  Corinth  some  five 
years  previous  to  the  composition  of  these 
epistles.  In  57  and  58  he  was  at  Ephesus, 
where  he  was  visited  by  a  deputation  from. 
Corinth,  bringing  him  news  from  the  local 
church;  and  he  sent  a  letter  back  with  them. 
In  the  missing  letter,  he  had  made  a  severe 
attack  on  sensuality,  the  besetting  sin  of  Cor- 
inth, as  everyone  knows.  This  sin  had  actually 
been  made  a  form  of  worship,  and  the  church 
needed  some  rather  emphatic  language  from 
Paul  on  the  subject,  and  got  it. 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  (^'j 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  in  this 
great  letter  is  the  picture  it  gives  of  the  apos- 
toHc  church,  often  held  up  by  zealots  as  a 
model  for  twentieth-century  imitation.  This 
early  church  was  no  Paradise,  and  if  it  existed 
in  New  York  to-day,  would  probably  be  sup- 
pressed by  the  police.  Some  of  the  church- 
members  lived  openly  dissolute  lives;  they 
fought  each  other  in  the  courts;  they  were 
quarrelsome,  lustful,  avaricious,  and  glutton- 
ous; misunderstanding  the  institution  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  some  of  them  got  drunk  at  the 
Communion  table.  Nous  avons  change  tout 
cela,  and  still  there  is  room  for  improvement. 

Those  of  us  who,  like  myself,  are  sore  dis- 
tressed by  the  weaknesses  and  imperfections 
of  the  modem  Church  of  Christ,  and  still  more 
by  its  lack  of  the  qualities  of  leadership  in  the 
world's  social  organisation,  ought  to  remember 
that  although  the  Founder  of  Christianity  was 
divine,  the  Church  is  neither  more  nor  less  than 
human.  It  is  as  human  as  a  pohtical  party. 
It  is  the  result  of  human  effort  to  follow  and 
imitate  a  Divine  Example,  and  is  naturally 
therefore  far  from  ideal.  It  contains,  like  any 
pohtical  combination,  men  and  women  of  the 


68  Reading  the  Bible 

highest  type,  and  also  some  that  help  to  dis- 
grace it  in  the  eyes  of  outsiders.  If  the  majority 
of  its  members  were  not  better  than  the  average 
of  those  without  its  pale,  and  if  its  influence  in 
society  were  not  on  the  whole  an  elevating  one, 
it  would  be  a  complete  instead  of  a  partial 
failure.  But  its  history  is  inspiring.  The 
Church  has  purged  itself  of  many  cruelties, 
sins,  and  follies  as  it  has  climbed  upward 
through  the  centuries.  Yet  to-day  it  is  true  to 
say  that  the  organisation  still  needs  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  and  the  letters  of  Paul;  and  the 
best  thing  about  it  is  that  both  Jesus  and  Paul 
find  in  the  hearts  of  priests,  ministers,  and 
lay-workers  a  more  immediate  response  than 
in  any  other  group  of  men  or  women.  As 
Browning  says, 

This  it  is  to  have  to  do 
With  honest  hearts:  they  easily  may  err, 
But  in  the  main  they  wish  well  to  the  truth. 
You  are  Christians;  somehow,  no  one  ever  plucked 
A  rag,  even,  from  the  body  of  the  Lord, 
To  wear  and  mock  with,  but,  despite  himself, 
He  looked  the  greater  and  was  the  better. 

We  must  not  expect  too  much  of  the  Church. 
When  we  remember  that  the  teachings  of  its 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  69 

Founder  and  Chief  Apostle  are  directly  opposed 
to  human  instincts,  the  wonder  is  that  any  real 
progress  has  been  made.  And  I  believe  that  in 
some  thousands  of  years  the  Christians  may  be 
in  the  majority  instead  of  in  their  present 
minority. 

The  Corinthian  Church  submitted  all  sorts 
of  questions  to  Paul  as  referee.  How  about 
marriage — the  gift  of  tongues  (I  imagine  there 
were  many  fakers) — the  position  of  women — 
the  relations  of  church-members  with  out- 
siders? It  needed  not  only  wisdom  on  Paul's 
part  to  settle  these  disputed  points,  it  required 
some  patience;  and  I  suspect  he  wrote  the 
famous  words  on  Charity  as  much  to  help 
himself  as  for  those  who  were  just  learning  to 
walk  in  the  new  and  difficult  road.  After  a 
careful  explanation  of  the  situation,  together 
with  a  persuasive  plea  for  hearty  cooperation 
in  which  he  used  the  metaphor  of  the  human 
body,  he  said  he  would  show  them  a  more 
excellent  way.  This  way  is  not  the  way  of  the 
law;  it  is  not  based  on  a  system  of  rules,  or 
petty  prohibitions;  it  is  the  way  of  the  Gospel, 
the  way  of  affectionate  sympathy.  It  is  a  pity 
that  the  nineteenth-century  revisers  changed 


JO  Reading  the  Bible 

the  old  seventeenth-century  word  charity  into 
the  too  general  word  love.  They  changed  it 
because  "charity"  had  come  commonly  to 
mean  cheque-signing.  For  what  Paul  meant  is 
clearly  the  necessity  of  charity  for  the  minds 
of  others,  for  their  points  of  view,  for  their 
weaknesses,  and  misunderstandings.  If  we 
have  this  divine  gift  of  charity,  we  shall  have 
the  key  to  human  nature  and  the  key  to  the 
religious  life;  v\^e  shall  have  the  greatest  thing 
in  the  world.  As  Henry  Drummond  used  to 
say,  it  is  significant  that  the  thirteenth  chapter 
of  First  Corinthians,  was  written,  not  by  John, 
but  by  Paul.  It  gains  in  eloquence,  it  gains  in 
intensity,  by  being  the  reasoned  view  of  a  man 
who  had  originally  little  of  this  article  of  charity 
in  his  nature,  and  who  owed  all  he  had  to  the 
grace  of  God.  It  was  his  experience  of  human- 
ity that  taught  him  the  overwhelming  necessity 
of  this  virtue. 

What  a  pity  that  our  Puritan  ancestors,  who 
exhibited  so  bravely  the  sterner  sides  of  the 
Christian  faith,  never  agreed  with  Paul  that 
Charity  was  greater  than  either  faith  or  hope! 
It  would  have  saved  their  own  souls — ^which  in 
many  cases  acutely  needed  the  remedy  they  so 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  71 

earnestly  advertised — and  it  would  have  made 
their  reverberating  pulpit  oratory  resemble 
something  other  than  soimding  brass. 

After  advising  the  Corinthians  to  insist  on 
decency  and  order — two  things  of  which  they 
had  only  an  elementary  conception — ^Paul 
suddenly  rises  to  the  heights  of  sublimity  in 
speaking  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  of 
our  assured  victory  over  death  and  the  grave. 
A  party  in  the  church,  imder  the  influence  of 
Greek  teaching,  had  denied  the  Resurrection, 
even  as  some  ministers  deny  it  now.  Paul 
showed  that  it  was  the  fundamental  basis  of 
the  Christian  faith;  without  it,  we  are  of  all 
men  most  miserable,  not  because  the  Christian 
Hfe  is  valuable  only  for  its  future  reward,  but 
because  we  should  all  have  been  gulled;  and 
there  is  perhaps  no  man  on  earth  more  pitiable 
than  one  who  is  deluded. 

To  affirm  no  resurrection  of  the  dead,  wrote 
Paul,  is  to  deny  Christ's  resurrection,  and  thus 
to  destroy  the  edifice  of  Christianity.  Gnostic 
speculation  grew  like  a  fungus  around  the 
trunk  of  the  tree  of  faith;  starting  with  the 
idea  that  matter  had  always  evil  in  it,  the 
Gnostics  claimed  that  if  the  body  rises  again. 


72  Reading  the  Bible 

it  must  still  contain  evil.  Paul  is  replying  to 
these  objections  in  his  remark  about  the  spirit- 
ual body.  He  appeals  also  to  the  witnesses 
that  actually  saw  Christ.  All  that  he  says  is 
still  persuasive,  still  eloquent,  except  his  argu- 
ment, "what  shall  they  do  which  are  baptised 
for  the  dead,  if  the  dead  rise  not  at  all?  Why 
are  they  then  baptised  for  the  dead?"  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  this  point  seemed  more  impor- 
tant to  Corinthians  than  it  does  to  Americans; 
there  then  prevailed  in  the  Corinthian  church 
the  curious,  and  as  it  seems  to  me,  silly  custom 
of  baptising  Uving  persons  for  some  who  had 
died  without  baptism.  Paul  seems  to  have 
believed  in  the  efficacy  of  this  superstitious 
rite. 

It  is  important  to  understand  the  meaning 
of  the  word  mystery  in  the  phrase,  "Behold,  I 
shew  you  a  mystery."  In  the  seventeenth 
century  this  word  often  meant  secret, — and 
what  Paul  is  saying  is  not  "I  am  about  to 
exhibit  some  hocus-pocus,"  but  rather,  as  we 
say  to  an  expectant  child,  "I'll  tell  you  a 
secret." 

The  conclusion,  as  always  with  Paul,  is 
practical    rather    than   mystical.      Don't    let 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  73 

Greek  philosophy  and  paganism  unsettle  your 
minds.  Have  soHd  convictions.  Remain  stead- 
fast.   Keep  busy. 

It  is  a  good  thing  for  the  early  churches  that 
they  had  for  leader  one  who  was  not  only  a 
man  of  God  but  a  man  of  sense.  What  would 
have  become  of  them  if  they  had  had  as  their 
spiritual  ad\'iser  somebody  Uke  A.  Bronson 
Alcott?  Or  the  monk  Rasputin?  Think  what 
a  following  Rasputin  would  have  had  in  Cor- 
inth! 

The  second  letter  to  the  Corinthians  was 
written  immediately  after  meeting  Titus  in 
Macedonia,  who  brought  him  the  latest  news 
from  Corinth.  This  letter  is  a  hot  defense 
against  accusations  that  a  faction  in  the 
church  had  made  against  Paul. 

No  one  knows  where  the  letter  to  the  Gala- 
tians  was  written,  but  the  time  seems  to  have 
been  during  the  third  missionary  journey,  per- 
haps either  in  57  or  58.  This  letter  is  unique 
among  his  works,  being  written  not  to  one 
church,  but  to  all  the  churches  in  Galatia.  On 
the  second  missionary  journey,  Paul  had  trav- 
eled through  that  country,  founding  churches; 
on  the  next  trip  he  went  through  Galatia  again, 


74  Reading  the  Bible 

and  became  alanned  at  the  fickleness  and 
instability  of  the  flock.  Now  while  he  was  at 
Ephesus  or  at  Corinth — it  really  doesn't  matter 
which — ^he  received  news  that  the  Jew  faction 
had  nearly  ruined  the  Galatian  churches,  and 
were  cleverly  undermining  Paul's  teachings. 
This  made  him  both  alarmed  and  indignant, 
and  he  immediately  dictated  this  fiery  missive. 
It  is  an  important  letter,  for  its  purpose — apart 
from  reUeving  his  mind — ^was  not  to  give  gen- 
eral advice,  but  to  settle  a  fundamental  ques- 
tion. Whether  he  settled  it  for  the  Galatians 
or  not,  we  shall  never  know;  but  he  certainly 
settled  it  for  the  general  body  of  Christians 
from  that  day  to  this,  whether  they  live  in 
Cape  Town  or  in  Michigan.  This  letter  there- 
fore may  be  considered  epoch-making  in  the 
development  of  Christianity — both  in  theory 
and  in  practice.  The  question  was  the  same 
one  that  made  trouble  for  Paul  on  his  previous 
journeys  and  in  all  his  early  preaching.  Should 
Gentiles  who  became  converted  be  compelled 
to  conform  to  the  Jewish  law,  including  cir- 
cumcision and  other  details?  Three  different 
views  were  held :  the  Judaistic  party  insisted  on 
the  strictest  conformation;  the  regular  apostles 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  75 

took  a  middle  course,  following  the  law  them- 
selves, but  not  compelling  the  Gentiles  to  do 
so;  Paul,  who  always  belonged  to  the  extreme 
left,  insisted  that  the  law  was  of  no  consequence 
whatever;  believing  in  Christ  fulfilled  the  law 
and  hence  made  it  obsolete.  Paul's  doctrine 
was  so  radical,  so  clear,  and  so  influential  that 
it  ultimately  enabled  Thomas  Carlyle  to  speak 
lightly  of  the  Ten  Commandments. 

The  attitude  of  the  apostle  explains  the 
hatred  which  the  Hebrew  party  had  for  him, 
and  their  persistent  efforts  toward  undercut- 
ting his  teaching  in  every  church  founded  by 
him.  No  sooner  had  the  sound  of  his  eloquence 
ceased  in  the  new  communities,  than  the  Jews 
began  their  countermine.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose  that  their  work  was  done  by  men 
sent  from  Jerusalem;  the  Jew  faction  existed 
everywhere. 

In  the  Galatian  churches,  the  Jews  had  made 
an  impression  on  the  people  chiefly  by  three 
arguments.  First,  that  Paul  was  not  a  genuine 
apostle,  but  an  unauthorised  demagogue.  They 
felt  no  more  bound  by  him  than  a  twentieth- 
century  Episcopal  bishop  feels  bound  by  the 
theology  of  Billy  Sunday.     Second,  that  the 


^S  Reading  the  Bible 

Jewish  Law  was  sacred  and  divine — Christ 
himself  being  the  Messiah,  not  of  the  Gentiles, 
but  of  the  Jews.  Third,  that  Paul's  attitude 
toward  the  Law  meant  absolute  license,  the 
destruction  of  hoUness.  No  doubt  the  Jews 
were  sincere  in  this. 

To  these  three  powerful  arguments  the  letter 
to  the  "foolish  Galatians"  was  addressed.  It 
is  a  masterpiece  of  force,  knocking  down  every 
shelter  his  enemies  erected.  The  epistle  may 
be  divided  into  three  parts:  a  defense  of  his 
credentials,  the  exaltation  of  Christ  over  the 
law,  a  vindication  of  the  ethical  value  of  liberty. 
The  world  has  yet  much  to  learn  about  the 
value  of  this  third  idea,  and  has  lately  been 
engaged  upon  a  universal  war  in  the  endeavour 
to  settle  it  once  for  all. 

Paul  is  so  excited  that  he  forgets  or  neglects 
his  usual  custom  of  beginning  with  congratula- 
tions; contrariwise,  he  rebukes  the  church- 
members  sharply,  pronouncing  a  curse  on  those 
who  teach  any  other  gospel  than  that  of  Christ. 
He  said  he  had  not  hesitated  to  rebuke  Peter 
face  to  face  for  his  cowardly  yielding  to  Jewish 
public  opinion.  Soon  he  tries  to  carry  his  own 
point  by  a  brilHant  flank  attack.     He  starts 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  77 

with  the  premisses  of  his  antagonists,  boldly 
claiming  Abraham  as  a  witness  to  his  own  side 
of  the  case,  even  as  Lessing,  in  another  con- 
troversy, clahned  that  the  liberty-loving  Shake- 
speare was  reaUy  a  better  foUower  of  Aristotle 
than  the  classicists  who  condemned  hmi.  If 
you  belong  to  Christ,  you  are  the  true  heir  of 
Abraham;  if  you  stand  by  the  law,  you  are  his 
bond-servant,  not  his  free  son. 

The  conclusion  of  the  letter  is  a  magnificent 
defense  of  spiritual  liberty.    Instead  of  freedom 
meaning  license,  it  creates  a  better  character 
than  can  be  formed  by  the  Law.    The  true  sons 
of  Christ  need  no  set  of  rules;  by  following  Him 
they  will  produce  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  which 
are  love,   joy,  peace,  longsuffering,  kindness, 
goodness,  faithfuhiess,  meekness,   self-control:  I 
with   these  Paul   contrasts   the  frmts  of  the 
flesh,  that  is,  the  results  of  the  condition  of 
man  before  the  truth  has  made  him  free;  and 
we  have  an  impressive  but  not  exaggerated 
roU-caU  of  deadly  sins. 

In  a  bitter  sarcasm,  the  apostle  says  that  he 
wishes  the  sticklers  for  circumcision  would  go 
a  little  farther,  and  cut  themselves  off  the 
earth. 


78  Reading  the  Bible 

God  is  greater  than  the  moral  code;  in  re- 
leasing ourselves  from  a  troublesome  list  of 
formalities,  we  are  more  than  ever  bound  to 
obey  the  great  natural  law  of  life — ^whatsoever 
a  man  soweth,  that  will  he  also  reap. 

As  usual,  Paul  closes  the  letter  with  a  few 
words  in  his  own  writing.  He  is  so  deeply 
moved  by  the  condition  of  the  Galatians,  re- 
garding them  as  bewitched,  that  he  writes  the 
postscript  as  it  were  in  capitals,  making  even 
the  shape  of  the  words  emphatic.  "See  with 
how  large  letters  I  have  written  unto  you  with 
mine  own  hand."  And  then,  with  that  superb 
combination  of  spirituality  and  common  sense, 
he  brushes  away  forever  the  cobwebs  of  ritu- 
alism, centering  all  his  force  on  the  one  supreme 
thing,  the  thing  that  really  makes  the  difference 
between  slavery  and  freedom:  "for  neither  is 
circumcision  anything,  nor  uncircumcision,  but 
a  new  creature." 

The  importance  of  the  letter  to  the  Galatians 
can  hardly  be  overestimated;  it  settled  forever 
what  should  be  the  essential  element  of  Chris- 
tianity. Paul's  words  are  needed  in  the  twenti- 
eth century:  they  still  form  the  best  answer 
to  those  who  seek  salvation  through  elaborate 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  79 

ceremonies  or  through  elaborate  dogmas.  True 
character  must  be  formed  within,  springing 
from  cheerful  obedience  to  the  spirit  of  Christ's 
teaching. 

The  letter  to  the  Romans  was  probably 
written  in  the  year  58  and  from  Corinth,  while 
he  was  on  his  third  missionary  journey.  This 
great  epistle  was  directed  to  a  community  that 
Paul  had  never  seen.  He  had  always  wanted 
to  go  to  Rome,  and  while  at  Corinth  he  was 
nearer  to  Rome  than  to  Jerusalem.  He  re- 
garded Rome  as  the  centre  of  the  civilised 
world,  and  wished  to  conquer  this  citadel  for 
Christ.  He  contemplated  making  a  long  West- 
em  trip,  including  Spain,  and  wanted  to  make 
Rome  a  base  of  operations.  His  zest  for  Rome 
was  sharpened  by  the  fact  that  he  was  a  free- 
bom  Roman  citizen.  It  would  have  interested 
him  considerably  could  he  have  looked  into  the 
future,  and  beheld  Rome  as  the  centre  not 
merely  of  civilisation,  but  of  the  Church  of 
Christ. 

Phoebe,  a  Christian  woman,  was  about  to 
start  for  Rome,  and  she  may  have  carried  this 
letter.  Paul  dictated  the  epistle  in  Greek,  the 
stenographer  being  Tertius,  who  naively  added 


8o  Reading  the  Bible 

a  line  himself.  At  the  close  there  are  many 
individual  greetings;  a  long  Hst  of  names  is 
given,  and  Tertius,  not  wishing  to  be  omitted, 
inserted  "I,  Tertius,  who  write  the  epistle, 
salute  you  in  the  Lord." 

This  letter  was  to  prepare  the  Roman  Church 
for  Paul's  coming  visit;  but  unfortunately  we 
know  nothing  of  the  condition  of  the  organisa- 
tion, and  the  letter  does  not  tell  us  definitely. 
Were  they  mainly  Jews  or  Gentiles?  We  do 
not  know.  It  is  possible  that  the  two  parties 
were  openly  hostile,  and  Paul  wished  to  unite 
them. 

The  main  aim  of  the  letter  is  fairly  clear. 
Paul,  knowing  that  he  was  about  to  reach  the 
centre  of  the  Western  world,  wished  to  make 
evident  to  the  Gentiles  the  nature  of  his  free 
Gospel.  They  must  understand  that  they  had 
fully  as  much  right  to  Christianity  as  the  Jews. 
His  letter  is  accordingly  a  platform  of  Chris- 
tianity, both  in  theory  and  practice. 

He  seems  to  have  taken  more  pains  than 
usual  in  composition;  writing  to  those  whom 
he  had  not  seen,  he  studied  the  principles  of 
clearness  and  conciliation.  The  keynote  is 
Justification  by  Faith.     All,  both  Jews  and 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  8i 

Gentiles,  are  equally  justified  by  faith.  The 
Jews  may  think  themselves  safe  because  they 
have  the  law:  yet  not  having  the  law,  but  keep- 
ing it,  is  the  important  thing.  Even  in  that 
there  is  no  clean  righteousness,  hence  Jews  and 
Gentiles  both  stand  in  need  of  the  grace  of  God. 
Considering  Paul's  rough  treatment  from  the 
Jews,  and  the  way  they  had  insidiously  attacked 
him  in  the  Galatian  churches,  one  might  natu- 
rally expect  that  in  this  letter  he  would  furiously 
assail  them.  On  the  contrary,  his  tone  toward 
the  Jews  is  affectionate.  His  heart  bleeds  for 
his  brethren;  he  even  says  he  could  wish  himself 
damned  for  their  sakes.  He  writes  that  they 
have  a  great  natural  advantage  over  the  Gen- 
tiles, because  they  have  been  entrusted  with 
the  oracles  of  God.  But  the  core  of  the  letter 
is  this:  all  men  are  alike  condemned  by  the 
advent  of  Christ  in  the  world,  and  all  must  have 
faith  in  Him  to  be  saved. 

Have  Paul's  ideas  undergone  a  process  of 
development?  Yes.  He  says  little  about  the 
second  coming,  which  occupied  so  much  space 
in  the  letters  to  the  Thessalonians.  The  seventh 
and  eighth  chapters  reveal  his  amazing  skill 
as  an  expounder  of  the  theory  of  sin  and  re- 


82  Reading  the  Bible 

demption;  the  twelfth  chapter  reveals  him  as 
a  master-guide  toward  the  elevation  of  daily 
conduct. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  Paul's  knowl- 
edge of  the  nature  of  Christ,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  of  his  profound  acquaintance  with  the 
nature  of  man.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child 
will  find  the  seventh  chapter  an  accurate  mirror 
of  the  human  heart.  When  Faust  told  Wagner 
that  he  had  two  souls  v/ithin  him,  one  lifting 
him  aloft  and  the  other  dragging  him  dovm, 
he  was  simply  making  a  poetic  paraphrase  of 
the  immortal  analysis  by  Paul.  The  following 
words  might  serve  as  a  truthful  autobiography 
for  anybody:  "What  I  would,  that  do  I  not: 
but  what  I  hate,  that  do  I."  It  is  just  as  certain 
that  the  human  mind  recognises  Truth,  Beauty, 
and  Goodness  as  desirable  goals,  as  it  is  certain 
that  the  instincts  of  human  nature  pull  in  the 
opposite  directions. 

The  four  letters  to  the  Philippians,  to  the 
Colossians,  to  Philemon,  and  to  the  Ephesians, 
are  sometimes  called  the  Prison  Epistles,  be- 
cause it  is  thought  that  they  were  written  while 
Paul  was  under  detention  at  Rome.  His  im- 
prisonment there  probably  lasted  from  62  to 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  83 

64.  Paul  had  visited  Philippi  during  the  second 
missionary  journey  in  51-54.  It  was  the  first 
city  in  Europe  in  which  he  preached,  and 
although  he  had  been  persecuted,  his  work  was 
highly  successful.  This  was  where  Paul  and 
Silas  were  jailed,  and  their  conduct  during  the 
earthquake — like  that  of  the  Salvation  Army 
on  the  sinking  steamer — caused  some  immediate 
conversions.  Philippi  was  then  a  Roman  city: 
hence  the  famous  remark  by  the  writer,  ''Our 
citizenship  is  in  Heaven."  Paul's  lively  inter- 
est in  this  church  had  been  quickened  by  a 
personal  tribute.  The  members  made  up  a 
collection  of  money  and  gifts  for  Paul,  and  sent 
them  to  him.  by  Epaphroditus.  Any  loving 
remembrance  touched  Paul  deeply — for  he 
had  plenty  of  the  other  kind — and  immediately 
upon  the  receipt  of  the  presents  he  composed 
this  letter.  He  lays  no  particular  stress  on  any 
doctrinal  or  ethical  point — a  wide  difference 
from  the  letter  to  the  Galatians.  Of  all  the 
epistles,  this  is  the  most  affectionate,  the  most 
letter-like.  He  simply  thanks  them,  talks  over 
affairs  in  general,  and  gives  such  advice  as 
happens  to  rise  to  the  surface  of  his  mind.  This 
is  one  reason  why  the  style  is  so  disconnected 


84  Reading  the  Bible 

and  so  human.  The  keynote  is  Joy.  He  says 
tranquilly  that  the  presents  are  most  acceptable, 
and  adds,  "not  that  I  speak  in  respect  of  want; 
for  I  have  learned  in  whatsoever  state  I  am, 
to  be  content." 

The  church  at  Colossae,  a  town  in  South- 
em  Phrygia,  southeast  of  Ephesus,  Paul 
had  never  seen.  A  new  heresy  was  poisoning 
the  members — a  combination  of  Judaism  and 
Gnosticism.  The  object  of  the  letter  was  to 
fight  this  peril.  As  we  might  guess  from  its 
name,  Gnosticism  taught  the  supremacy  of 
Knowledge.  Faith  will  do  well  enough  for 
children,  invalids,  and  old  ladies,  but  the  intel- 
ligentsia need  only  science.  In  this  sense 
Bazarov,  Turgenev's  nihilistic  hero,  was  a 
Gnostic.  Like  all  philosophers,  they  concerned 
themselves  with  the  problem  of  evil,  because 
evil  is  the  most  evident  fact  of  all  the  facts  in 
the  world.  They  tried  to  relieve  God  of  the 
responsibility  for  it,  like  some  later  philoso- 
phers; God  could  not  therefore  have  immedi- 
ately created  the  world.  They  thus  propounded 
the  following  theory,  and  let  it  always  be 
remembered  that  no  one  can  invent  a  theory 
so  absurd  but  that   some   can  be  foimd  who 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  85 

win  believe  it.  I  do  not  know  which  is  the 
easier — to  propound  an  absurdity,  or  to  secure 
disciples  for  it.  The  Gnostic  idea  was  that 
God  produced  one  being,  that  another,  and  so 
on  until  the  divine  ingredient,  becoming  con- 
stantly weaker  by  dilution,  like  Puritanism  in 
the  New  England  twentieth-century  blood, 
could  scarcely  be  detected  at  all.  Then  one  of 
these  emanations  was  base  enough  to  connect 
with  matter  and  create  the  world.  Thus  there 
was  a  graduated  series  of  Beings  between  God 
and  the  World;  which  gave  the  philosophers 
the  welcome  task  of  arranging  a  systematic 
hierarchy  of  angels.  The  origin  of  evil  is  not 
in  man,  but  in  matter;  and  as  a  necessary 
result,  the  way  of  salvation  was  through  com- 
plete asceticism. 

Mingled  with  this  Gnosticism  at  Colossae 
was  Judaism,  with  all  its  ritual  of  laws,  feasts. 
Sabbaths  and  other  restrictions.  News  of  these 
difficulties  came  to  Paul.  Apparently  he  first 
wrote  a  letter  to  Laodicea  which  has  been  lost, 
and  then  this  one  to  the  Colossians.  His  style, 
except  for  one  grand  outburst,  is  confused, 
possibly  for  two  reasons.  He  is  not  very  well 
up  in  Gnosticism,  and  he  has  never  seen  the 


86  Reading  the  Bible 

people  he  is  addressing.     At  the  end  of  the 
letter  he  wrote  in  his  own  hand 

Remember  my  bonds. 

The  letter  to  Philemon  is  the  only  one  written 
to  an  individual  on  a  private  matter.  This  is 
no  church  affair.  It  is  exactly  such  a  letter  as 
one  man  would  write  to  another  on  business. 
Perhaps  Paul  wrote  other  similar  letters  which 
are  lost.  This  one  shows  the  apostle  in  a  nat- 
ural, intimate  vein.  Onesimus,  the  slave  of 
Philemon,  had  run  away,  and,  in  leaving  his 
master,  like  Jessica,  he  had  taken  care  not  to 
depart  empty-handed.  Escaping  to  Rome,  he 
had  been  attracted  by  Paul's  teaching,  had 
become  converted,  and  apparently  wished  to 
do  the  square  thing.  He  had  a  dog-like  devo- 
tion to  Paul,  and  had  evidently  made  himself 
useful  in  a  thousand  ways.  The  apostle  wanted 
to  keep  him;  but  he  naturally  felt  it  was  his 
duty  to  return  him  to  his  owner,  and  the  whole 
letter  is  a  tactful  intercession  for  the  slave. 
The  style  is  marked  by  courtesy,  refinement, 
and  consideration  for  both  master  and  man. 
It  is  needless  to  add  that  all  attempts  to  make 
of  this  epistle  a  type  of  the  plan  of  salvation 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  87 

are  as  absurd  as  to  twist  the  passionate  love 
lyrics  of  Solomon's  Song  into  a  symbol  of 
Christ  and  the  Church. 

The  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  like  that  to  the 
Colossians,  is  a  circular  letter:  they  are  com- 
panion pieces.  This  is  addressed  wholly  to  the 
Gentiles.  The  subject  is  Church  Unity.  Rec- 
oncile all  difficulties — ^both  theological  and 
social — and  get  together  on  the  basis  of  devotion 
to  the  person  of  Christ.  Observe  how  steadily 
Paul  has  grown  in  breadth  of  view,  and  in 
tenderness.  Instead  of  scolding,  he  pleads. 
He  grew  in  grace  to  the  last  day  of  his  life. 

This  has  sometimes  been  called  the  pro- 
foundest  of  his  letters.  Pie  was  writing  to 
philosophic  folk,  who  could  understand  deep 
thinking  and  metaphysical  ideas.  The  style, 
like  that  of  most  philosophers,  is  confused  and 
involved,  much  more  so  than  in  the  letter  to 
the  Colossians;  but  it  rises  in  a  superb  passage 
toward  the  close,  where  he  enumerates  the 
complete  outfit  for  the  Christian  soldier. 

The  epistles  to  Timothy  and  to  Titus  are 
called  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  because  they  were 
written  to  these  men  in  their  capacity  as  Pastors 
of  Churches.     Many  scholars  think  they  were 


88  Reading  the  Bible 

not  written  by  Paul.  Ignorant  of  New  Testa- 
ment interpretation  as  I  am,  it  would  be  an 
impertinence  for  me  to  express  an  opinion  on 
this  point.  All  I  can  say  is,  I  am  glad  we  have 
them,  and  I  hope  Paul  wrote  them.  They  were 
intended  to  guide  Titus  and  Timothy  in  funda- 
mental matters  concerning  Church  government. 
They  differ  in  language  from  the  known  epistles 
of  Paul;  but  it  is  possible  that  Paul,  like  some 
other  writers,  occasionally  went  outside  of  his 
customary  vocabulary.  It  is  difficult  to  fit 
them  in  to  any  known  period  of  our  apostle's 
career  of  which  we  have  definite  information; 
and  it  seems  as  though  the  Church  spoken  of 
here  had  been  more  completely  organised  than 
is  supposed  to  have  been  the  case  in  Paul's 
lifetime. 

Perhaps  Paul,  in  a  visit  to  the  island  of  Crete, 
had  tried  to  consolidate  and  strengthen  the 
young  Church.  He  seems  to  have  left  Titus 
behind  to  complete  this  work,  and  the  letter 
gives  the  necessary  directions.  Titus  was  not 
a  Jew.  He  was  a  Gentile  whom  Paul  had  run 
across  years  before.  He  was  a  Greek,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  Christian  converts  not  circum- 
cised.   On  Paul's  memorable  visit  to  Jerusalem, 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter-Writer  89 

when  the  question  of  circumcision  was  to  be 
settled,  Paul  took  Titus  along  as  an  example. 

Titus  seems  to  have  had  difficulties  at  Crete. 
The  church  was  weak  and  filled  with  heretics 
and  slackers  and  sensualists  and  scandal- 
mongers. Even  one  of  their  own  prophets  had 
said,  "The  Cretians  are  always  liars,  evil  beasts, 
slow  bellies."  Paul's  advice  is  definite  and 
sensible,  and  contains  a  phrase  that  many  who 
read  the  Bible  only  when  they  are  sick  or  in 
danger,  greet  with  recognition  mingled  with 
surprise.    "Unto  the  pure  all  things  are  pure." 

Timothy  had  been  intimately  associated 
with  Paul,  and  is  first  mentioned  in  the  six- 
teenth chapter  of  the  Book  of  the  Acts.  His 
mother  was  a  Jew.  She  had  brought  up  her 
son  in  a  good  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures. 
His  father  was  a  Greek.  Although  addressed 
to  an  individual,  the  letters  to  Timothy  are 
not  at  all  private  in  the  sense  of  the  word  which 
fits  the  letter  to  Philemon.  Paul  evidently 
meant  to  have  his  advice  read  to  the  Church. 

I  confess  without  shame  that  the  reason  why 
I  hope  they  were  written  by  Paul  is  not  because 
of  their  admonitions  but  simply  because  of 
their  personal  allusions,  which  bring  the  great 


90  Reading  the  Bible 

writer  very  close.  I  have  always  admired 
Montaigne's  curiosity  about  the  tastes  and 
little  peculiarities  of  men  of  genius.  Winter 
was  coming  on;  Paul  was  an  old  man,  and  felt 
the  approaching  frost  in  his  bones.  Thomas 
Gray  wrote  in  one  of  his  last  letters,  "Now  I 
even  tremble  at  an  east  wind."  Paul  wants 
his  overcoat.  "The  cloke  that  I  left  at  Troas 
with  Carpus,  when  thou  comest,  bring  with 
thee."  He  is  not  only  cold,  he  is  lonely.  "Only 
Luke  is  with  me."  Perhaps  Doctor  Luke  had 
occasion  to  employ  his  professional  skill,  for 
Paul  writes  under  the  shadow  of  death.  "Take 
Mark,  and  bring  him  with  thee."  But  above 
all,  he  wants  to  see  Timothy  again,  and  twice 
he  implores  him  to  hurry  up.  "Do  thy  dili- 
gence to  come  shortly  unto  me,"  and  then, 
after  much  miscellaneous  information,  he  writes 
again,  "Do  thy  diligence  to  come  before  win- 
ter." 

Listead  of  talking  about  the  second  coming 
of  Christ,  he  talks  about  his  own  death,  which 
he,  like  many  other  once  hopeful  adventists, 
finally  is  forced  to  face.  But  although  there 
are  moments  of  despondency  and  weakness  in 
these  last  words,   the  trumpet  blast  in   the 


St.  Paul  as  a  Letter- Writer  91 

presence  of  the  angel  of  death  is  like  the  clear 
tone  of  the  slughom  of  Childe  Roland.  It  is 
a  noble  farewell  from  an  old  veteran,  who  has 
fought  a  good  fight;  it  is  a  valediction  forbid- 
ding mourning. 


ra 

SHORT  STORIES  IN  THE  BIBLE 

MUCH  has  been  written  in  recent  years 
about  the  art  of  the  Short  Story.  One 
of  our  foremost  contemporary  American  critics 
and  men  of  letters,  Professor  Brander  Mat- 
thews, in  an  interesting  and  penetrating  dis- 
cussion of  the  subject,  has  differentiated  this 
form  sharply  both  from  the  novel  and  from 
"the  story  that  is  short."  Excellent  examples 
of  stories  that  are  short  are  Silas  Marner,  Daisy 
Miller,  Taras  Bulha;  but  not  one  of  these 
masterpieces  could  strictly  be  called  a  short 
story. 

Those  late  Victorian  Britons,  Stevenson  and 
Kipling,  who  were  also  poets  and  novelists,  and 
who  were  saturated  in  the  Bible,  approximated 
perfection  in  the  art  of  the  short  story.  When 
I  first  read  Stevenson's  Beach  of  Falesa,  I 
seemed  to  hear  a  strange  throbbing  undertone, 
an  inexplicable  accompaniment  to  the  flow  of 
the  narrative.    I  stopped  to  discover  what  this 

92 


Short  Stories  in  the  Bible  93 

sound  might  be — it  was  the  beating  of  my 
heart  ....  Many  of  Kipling's  short  stories  are 
modem  illustrations  of  the  wisdom  of  the  Book 
of  Proverbs;  he  is  fond  of  Biblical  titles,  and 
his  familiarity  with  the  Scriptures  appears  again 
and  again. 

American  writers  have  excelled  more  often 
in  the  field  of  the  Short  Story  than  in  any  other. 
In  novels,  in  poetry,  and  in  drama,  we  are  far 
behind  England  and  the  Continent;  but  we 
have  contributed  so  many  admirable  specimens 
of  the  Short  Story  to  the  world's  literature  that 
in  this  department  we  may  confidently  chal- 
lenge comparison.  Professor  Barrett  Wendell 
says  that  American  men  of  letters  have  had  a 
more  conscious  sense  of  form  than  the  British. 
We  are  perhaps  closer  to  Continental  models 
than  they.  And  in  the  Short  Story  the  sense 
of  form  is  all-important. 

The  art  of  the  Short  Story  seemed  to  come 
naturally  to  Americans.  Washington  Irving, 
our  first  distinctive  man  of  letters,  wrote  tales 
of  technical  excellence.  There  are  many  pages 
in  the  longer  works  of  Irving  that  have  become 
obsolete;  his  pathos  is  thin,  and  his  moralising 
flat.    But  Rip  Van  Winkle  and  The  Legend  of 


94  Reading  the  Bible 

Sleepy  Hollow  are  as  good  to-day  as  when  first 
printed.  Edgar  Allan  Poe  has  to  his  credit 
more  than  a  score  of  masterpieces,  the  beauty 
of  which  cannot  apparently  be  dulled  by  time. 
Nathaniel  Hawthorne,  with  all  of  Poe's  origi- 
nahty  and  inventive  power,  wrote  a  long  list 
of  short  fictions,  founded  on  the  depths  of  moral 
truth,  and  rising  from  these  foundations  into 
the  spiritual  atmosphere  of  the  fourth  dimen- 
sion. No  novelist  has  gone  more  profoundly 
into  the  nature  of  sin  than  Hawthorne  in  the 
tiny  sketch  called  Ethan  Brand — in  fact,  I  think 
a  fine  essay  might  be  written  by  a  student  of 
theology  on  Hawthorne's  conception  of  sin.  A 
large  portion  of  Bret  Harte's  work  has  already 
gone  to  limbo;  but  The  Luck  of  Roaring  Camp 
and  The  Outcasts  oj  Poker  Flat  are  as  vivid  and 
impressive  to-day  as  when  they  first  startled 
the  world  with  their  poignant  pathos.  Henry 
James  is  best  known  for  his  long  novels;  but  he 
was  also  a  master  of  the  Short  Story.  In  our 
own  time  no  one  has  excelled  the  best  work  of 
0.  Henry.  He  wrote  in  the  twentieth-century 
vernacular;  but  he  had  the  genius  to  combine 
an  intense  localism  with  a  universal  appeal. 
If    any    one   doubts    the    greatness    of    this 


Short  Stones  in  the  Bible  95 

American,  one  should  reread  The  Furnished 
Room. 

No  better  Continental  model  for  the  Short 
Story  can  be  found  than  the  work  of  French 
authors;  they  have  had  an  army  of  pupils,  and 
even  the  mighty  Russians,  who  are  not  given 
to  playing  the  game  of  foUow-my-leader, 
learned  something  here.  With  the  single  ex- 
ception of  Dostoevski,  all  the  great  Russian 
writers,  from  Pushkin  to  Andreev,  have  prac- 
ticed successfully  the  art  of  the  Short  Story. 
Chekhov's  productions  are  amazing  in  their 
number,  and  in  their  high  level  of  excellence. 
Sologub's  are  remarkable  for  their  condensa- 
tion, in  that  one  respect  resembling  the  speci- 
mens to  be  found  in  the  New  Testament:  some 
of  them  fill  only  a  page.  Tolstoi's  are  directly 
founded  on  the  Gospel  narrative,  and  his 
masterpiece.  Where  Love  is  there  God  is  also,  is 
the  nearest  approach  in  modem  times  to  the 
incomparable  parables  of  our  Lord;  just  as  two 
novels  by  Dostoevski,  The  Brothers  Karamazov, 
and  The  Idiot,  might  fairly  be  taken  as  a  Rus- 
sian expansion  of  the  Gospel  according  to  John. 

The  Short  Story  must  have  unity,  whereas 
some  of  the  greatest  novels,  like  Anna  Karenina, 


96  Reading  the  Bible 

manage  to  do  without  it.  The  Short  Stoiy 
must  be  based  on  one  event,  or,  as  Professor 
Matthews  expresses  it,  on  a  "series  of  emotions 
called  forth  by  a  single  situation."  The  lyrical 
poems  of  Robert  Browning  are  short  stories 
told  in  verse;  he  probably  invented  more  plots 
than  any  other  writer,  and  it  is  interesting  to 
recall  the  remark  of  one  of  the  shrewdest  cinema 
managers  of  our  time,  who  emphatically  de- 
clared, "Robert  Browning  is  the  greatest 
writer  for  the  movies  that  ever  lived." 

Now  as  the  Bible  excels  all  other  books  in 
poetry,  in  prose  historical  narrative,  in  pro- 
phetic eloquence,  in  philosophy,  political  econ- 
omy, and  in  worldly  wisdom,  so  the  finest  Short 
Stories  are  to  be  found  in  the  Bible.  And  these 
brief  tales  illustrate  every  phase  of  human 
nature.  Just  as  I  have  repeatedly  wished  that 
I  might  go  to  the  theatre  and  see  a  Shakespear- 
ean play  without  being  familiar  either  with  the 
plot  or  with  the  name  of  the  author,  so  I  heart- 
ily wish  I  might  read  for  the  first  time  the 
Bible  stories,  and  judge  them  apart  from  the 
years  of  childhood  training  and  instruction. 
An  interesting  and  amusing  illustration  of  the 
effect  produced  when  these  narratives  salute 


Short  Stories  in  the  Bible  97 

men's  ears  for  the  first  time,  was  given  in  the 
New  York  Times,  January  8,  1919.  The  Rt. 
Rev.  John  N.  McCormick,  Bishop  of  Western 
Michigan,  who  had  been  overseas  in  Red  Cross 
Work,  is  quoted  as  follows: 

"One  of  the  chaplains  in  France  told  me 
that  although  every  soldier  had  a  small  New 
Testament  which  went  into  his  pack,  he  was 
having  constant  demands  for  the  whole  Bible 
in  Enghsh.  He  had  scoured  the  country  for 
Bibles  and  the  supply  was  not  equal  to  the 
demand.  Finally  he  asked  a  private  why  he 
wanted  the  whole  Bible. 

"'Because  I  want  to  read  about  the  wars,* 
came  the  reply.  'The  Old  Testament  is  full  of 
wars  and  I  want  to  read  those  stories.' 

"When  one  of  the  transports  went  over  last 
Spring,  the  Chaplain,  finding  a  group  of  men 
sitting  together  on  the  deck,  with  nothing  to 
do,  began  to  tell  them  stories.  He  just  told 
them  for  their  brilliant  value  as  tales.  7\nd  he 
told  the  story  of  Paul's  shipwreck  and  those 
fourteen  days  in  a  typhoon  when  he  was  mak- 
ing his  famous  voyage  to  Rome.  When  he  had 
finished,  a  man  called  out  to  him:  'Who  was 
that  guy?'    The  story-teller  replied  that  it  was 


98  Reading  the  Bible 

a  man  named  Paul.  The  soldier  went  below 
and  aroused  his  bunkie.  'The  Chaplain  was 
telling  us  a  story  up  on  deck  about  a  fellow 
named  Paul,  and  he  was  some  man.'" 

A  few  years  ago  a  newspaper  offered  a  ptize 
for  the  best  answer  to  the  question,  "Which 
is  the  finest  short  story  ever  written?"  The 
prize  was  awarded  to  a  well-known  English 
writer,  who  voted  for  the  story  of  the  woman 
taken  in  sin.  I  find  that  this  tale,  as  told  in 
the  Gospel  by  John,  contains  two  hundred  and 
five  words. 

I  do  not  think  any  small  boy  ever  forgets  the 
story  of  Jacob  and  Esau.  Nothing  rankles  in 
a  boy's  mind  like  injustice,  unfair  treatment. 
Furthermore,  in  spite  of  the  intense  blood- 
affection  that  unites  brothers — instantly  shown 
when  any  of  them  is  attacked  by  a  person  out- 
side the  family — there  is  invariably  a  certain 
jealousy  between  two  brothers  of  nearly  the 
same  age;  and  this  jealousy  is  particularly  sharp 
in  the  difficult  matter  of  paternal  distribution  of 
awards.  This  ugly  trait  in  human  nature  is  the 
basis  of  the  story  of  Jacob  and  Esau,  and  the 
story  of  the  Prodigal  Son.  The  most  dangerous 
foe  to  parental  discipline  as  to  the  discipline  in 


Short  Stories  in  the  Bible  99 

a  boy's  school  is  any  suspicion  of  favouritism; 
and  when  the  normal  boy  reads  the  story  of 
Jacob  and  Esau,  the  trick  played  by  the  mother 
for  Jacob's  benefit,  and  the  cruel  disappoint- 
ment of  honest  Esau  when  he  arrives  too  late, 
the  boy  in  his  own  heart  identifies  himself  with 
the  deceived  huntsman — he  is  Esau.  No 
amount  of  exegesis,  no  reminders  of  the  his- 
torical importance  of  Jacob,  no  recital  of  Jacob's 
subsequent  sufferings  can  ever  make  a  boy 
forget  Jacob's  sinister  methods;  Jacob  from 
that  time  forth  is  a  s\^dndler,  and  the  boy  must 
look  elsewhere  in  the  Bible  for  a  hero.  Observe 
how  in  this  tale  the  height  of  dramatic  power 
is  reached  with  severe  economy  of  words. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  Isaac  was  old,  and 
his  eyes  were  dim,  so  that  he  could  not  see,  he  called 
Esau  his  eldest  son,  and  said  unto  him.  My  son:  and 
he  said  imto  him.  Behold,  here  am  I.  And  he  said. 
Behold,  now,  I  am  old,  I  know  not  the  day  of  my 
death:  now  therefore  take,  I  pray  thee,  thy  weapons, 
thy  quiver  and  thy  bow,  and  go  out  to  the  field,  and 
take  me  some  venison;  and  make  me  savoury  meat, 
such  as  I  love,  and  bring  it  to  me,  that  I  may  eat; 
that  my  soul  may  bless  thee  before  I  die. 

And  Rebekah  heard  when  Isaac  spake  to  Esau  his 
son.    And  Esau  went  to  the  field  to  himt  for  venison, 


loo  Reading  the  Bible 

and  to  bring  it.  And  Rebekah  spake  unto  Jacob  her 
son,  saying,  Behold,  I  heard  thy  father  speak  unto 
Esau  thy  brother,  saying,  Bring  me  venison,  and  make 
me  savoury  meat,  that  I  may  eat,  and  bless  thee 
before  the  Lord  before  my  death.  Now  therefore, 
my  son,  obey  my  voice  according  to  that  which  I 
command  thee.  Go  now  to  the  flock,  and  fetch  me 
from  thence  two  good  kids  of  the  goats;  and  I  will 
make  them  savoury  meat  for  thy  father,  such  as  he 
loveth:  and  thou  shalt  bring  it  to  thy  father,  that  he 
may  eat,  and  that  he  may  bless  thee  before  his  death. 
And  Jacob  said  to  Rebekah  his  mother.  Behold  Esau 
my  brother  is  a  hairy  man,  and  I  am  a  smooth  man: 
my  father  peradventure  will  feel  me,  and  I  shall  seem 
to  him  as  a  deceiver;  and  I  shall  bring  a  curse  upon  me, 
and  not  a  blessing.  And  his  mother  said  unto  him. 
Upon  me  be  thy  curse,  my  son:  only  obey  my  voice, 
and  go  fetch  me  them.  And  he  went,  and  fetched, 
and  brought  them  to  his  mother:  and  his  mother  made 
savoury  meat,  such  as  his  father  loved.  And  Rebekah 
took  goodly  raiment  of  her  eldest  son  Esau,  which 
were  with  her  in  the  house,  and  put  them  upon  Jacob 
her  younger  son:  and  she  put  the  skins  of  the  kids 
of  the  goats  upon  his  hands,  and  upon  the  smooth  of 
his  neck:  and  she  gave  the  savoury  meat  and  the 
bread,  which  she  had  prepared,  into  the  hand  of  her  son 
Jacob. 

And  he  came  irnto  his  father,  and  said.  My  father: 
and  he  said.  Here  am  I;  who  art  thou,  my  son?  And 
Jacob  said  unto  his  father,  I  am  Esau  thy  firstborn; 


Short  Stories  In  the  Bible  loi 

I  have  done  according  as  thou  badest  me:  arise,  I  pray 
thee,  sit  and  eat  of  my  venison,  that  thy  soul  may  bless 
me.  And  Isaac  said  unto  his  son,  How  is  it  that  thou 
hast  found  it  so  quickly,  my  son?  And  he  said.  Because 
the  Lord  thy  God  brought  it  to  me.  And  Isaac  said 
unto  Jacob,  Come  near,  I  pray  thee,  that  I  may  feel 
thee,  my  son,  whether  thou  be  my  very  son  Esau  or 
not.  And  Jacob  went  near  unto  Isaac  his  father;  and 
he  felt  him,  and  said.  The  voice  is  Jacob's  voice,  but 
the  hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau.  And  he  discerned 
him  not,  because  his  hands  were  hairy,  as  his  brother 
Esau's  hands:  so  he  blessed  him.  And  he  said.  Art 
thou  my  very  son  Esau?  And  he  said,  I  am.  And 
he  said.  Bring  it  near  to  me,  and  I  will  eat  of  my  son's 
venison,  that  my  soul  may  bless  thee.  And  he  brought 
it  near  to  him,  and  he  did  eat:  and  he  brought  him 
wine,  and  he  drank.  And  his  father  Isaac  said  unto 
him,  Come  near  now,  and  kiss  me,  my  son.  And  he 
came  near,  and  kissed  him:  and  he  smelled  the  smell 
of  his  raiment,  and  blessed  him,  and  said.  See,  the 
smell  of  my  son  is  as  the  smell  of  a  field  which  the  Lord 
hath  blessed:  therefore  God  give  thee  of  the  dew  of 
heaven,  and  the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and  plenty  of 
corn  and  wine:  let  people  serve  thee,  and  nations  bow 
down  to  thee:  be  lord  over  thy  brethren,  and  let  thy 
mother's  sons  bow  down  to  thee:  cursed  be  every  one 
that  curseth  thee,  and  blessed  be  he  that  blesseth  thee. 
And  it  came  to  pass,  as  soon  as  Isaac  had  made  an 
end  of  blessing  Jacob,  and  Jacob  was  yet  scarce  gone 
out  from  the  presence  of  Isaac  his  father,  that  Esau 


102  Reading  the  Bible 

his  brother  came  in  from  his  hunting.  And  he  also 
had  made  savoury  meat,  and  brought  it  unto  his  father, 
and  said  unto  his  father,  Let  my  father  arise,  and  eat 
of  his  son's  venison,  that  thy  soul  may  bless  me.  And 
Isaac  his  father  said  unto  him,  Who  art  thou?  And 
he  said,  I  am  thy  son,  thy  firstborn  Esau.  And  Isaac 
trembled  very  exceedingly,  and  said,  Who?  where  is  he 
that  hath  taken  venison,  and  brought  it  me,  and  I 
have  eaten  of  all  before  thou  camest,  and  have  blessed 
him?  yea,  and  he  shall  be  blessed.  And  when  Esau 
heard  the  words  of  his  father,  he  cried  with  a  great 
and  exceeding  bitter  cry,  and  said  unto  his  father, 
Bless  me,  even  me  also,  O  my  father.  And  he  said, 
Thy  brother  came  with  subtilty,  and  hath  taken  away 
thy  blessing.  And  he  said,  Is  not  he  rightly  named 
Jacob?  for  he  hath  supplanted  me  these  two  times; 
he  took  away  my  birthright;  and,  behold,  now  he  hath 
taken  away  my  blessing.  And  he  said.  Hast  thou  not 
reserved  a  blessing  for  me?  And  Isaac  answered  and 
said  unto  Esau,  Behold,  I  have  made  him  thy  lord, 
and  all  his  brethren  have  I  given  unto  him  for  servants; 
and  with  corn  and  wine  have  I  sustained  him:  and 
what  shall  I  do  now  unto  thee,  my  son?  And  Esau 
said  unto  his  father.  Hast  thou  but  one  blessing,  my 
father?  bless  me,  even  me  also,  O  my  father.  And 
Esau  lifted  up  his  voice,  and  wept.  And  Isaac  his 
father  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Behold,  thy  dwell- 
ing shall  be  the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and  of  the  dew  of 
heaven  from  above;  and  by  thy  sword  shalt  thou  live, 
and  shalt  serve  thy  brother:  and  it  shall  come  to  pass 


Short  Stones  in  the  Bible  103 

when  thou  shalt  have  the  dominion,  that  thou  shalt 
break  his  yoke  from  off  thy  neck. 

Esau  inherited  a  good  appetite  for  food  from 
his  father.  Both  were  hearty  eaters,  and  both 
were  swindled  tlirough  the  love  of  eating:  Isaac 
once,  and  Esau  twice. 

There  is  no  better  story  in  the  Old  Testament 
than  the  tale  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren. 
Everyone  is  interested  in  clothes — boys  and 
girls,  old  men  and  women;  and  the  coat  of 
many  colours  which  Joseph  wore  when  he  was 
seventeen  years  old,  is  the  first  picturesque 
touch  in  a  picturesque  career.  This  gaudy 
plumage  stimulated  the  envious  hatred  of  his 
brothers  which  his  vivid  dream  enlarged  be- 
yond endurance ;  when  they  threw  the  boy  into 
the  pit,  they  stripped  the  coat  off,  and  added 
one  more  colour  to  the  famous  garment,  the 
colour  of  blood,  which  was  too  much  for  old 
Jacob's  nerves.  The  subsequent  adventures 
of  Joseph  in  Egypt  are  dramatic  in  the  extreme; 
and  it  is  an  interesting  commentary  on  human 
nature,  that  Joseph's  emphatic  refusal  to 
betray  his  benefactor  has  given  him  from  that 
time  to  this  an  undeserved  reputation  for 
priggishness  that  he  will  never  Uve  down.    The 


I04  Reading  the  Bible 

very  name  Joseph  savours  of  pious  rather  than 
honourable  behaviour — consider  Joseph  Surface, 
no  doubt  deHberately  named.  It  is  worth 
remembering,  too,  that  Potiphar's  wife  is  one 
of  the  first  and  most  skillful  of  all  the  black- 
mailers recorded  in  criminal  history. 

Joseph  became  the  Herbert  C.  Hoover  of 
Eg>pt.  He  had  the  control  of  the  food  supply 
when  food  was  short,  and  apparently  had  the 
sole  power  of  determining  rations.  It  was  this 
official  position  that  brought  liis  brothers  back 
to  him,  all  unconscious  as  they  bowed  down 
and  made  obeisance  that  they  were  fulfilling 
the  early  dream.  The  passionate  excitement 
of  Joseph  at  the  appearance  of  Benjamin  and 
his  inabihty  to  control  his  feeluigs,  show  how 
much  stronger  is  family  affection  than  any 
pride  of  place  or  any  political  honour.  This  is 
one  of  the  greatest  of  all  the  great  recognition 
scenes  in  literature;  and  the  happy  reunion  of 
the  whole  family,  father  and  brothers  together, 
is  one  of  the  brightest  pages  in  a  book  filled 
with  tragedies  of  sin  and  pain. 

After  the  city  of  Gibeon  made  peace  with 
the  children  of  Israel  under  General  Joshua, 
the  enemies  of  the  latter  were  considerably 


Short  Stones  in  the  Bible  105 

disquieted,  and  formed  a  league  of  nations 
against  the  invader.  It  was  a  formidable  coali- 
tion; the  five  kings  of  the  Amorites,  the  king 
of  Jerusalem,  the  king  of  Hebron,  the  king  of 
Jarmuth,  the  king  of  Lachish,  the  king  of  Eglon 
made  a  solemn  compact,  encamped  against 
Gibeon,  and  invested  the  town.  The  people 
of  the  besieged  city  managed  to  get  word 
through  to  Joshua,  who  by  forced  marches 
arrived  suddenly  upon  the  scene  and  drove  the 
enemy  into  confusion.  While  these  battalions 
were  in  full  retreat,  they  were  attacked  by 
celestial  airplanes,  or  in  other  words,  they 
suffered  severely  from  a  terrific  hailstorm, 
which  caused  more  casualties  than  Israel's 
weapons.  Now  in  order  that  the  curtain  of 
night  might  not  conceal  the  flying  hosts,  Joshua 
commanded  the  sun  to  stand  still. 

Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon;  and  thou,  Moon, 
in  the  valley  of  Ajalon.  And  the  sim  stood  still,  and 
the  moon  stayed,  until  the  people  had  avenged  them- 
selves upon  their  enemies. 

Here  the  chronicler,  thinking  perhaps  the 
story  may  seem  incredible  to  future  readers, 
remarks  conclusively.  Is  not  this  written  in  the 
book  of  Jasher? 


io6  Reading  the  Bible 

So  the  sun  stood  still  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  and 
hasted  not  to  go  down  about  a  whole  day. 

It  must  have  seemed  indeed  a  terribly  long 
day  to  the  discomfited  hosts  of  the  league  of 
kings. 

There  are  only  two  references  in  the  Bible 
to  the  Book  of  Jasher — and  they  are  tantahsing, 
for  no  one  knows  what  has  become  of  this 
work,  nor  what  kind  of  a  work  it  was.  It  must 
have  contained  some  splendid  literature,  judg- 
ing from  the  citation  here,  and  the  one  in  the 
first  chapter  of  the  second  book  of  Samuel. 

Also  he  bade  them  teach  the  children  of  Judah  the 
bow:  behold,  it  is  written  in  the  book  of  Jasher. 

Then  follows  the  magnificent  lamentation  of 
David  over  Saul  and  Jonathan. 

The  obedience  of  the  sun  to  Joshua  is  often 
regarded  as  a  stunning  miracle.  But  some 
years  ago,  while  I  stood  reverently  in  front  of 
the  statue  of  Copernicus  in  Warsaw,  I  could 
not  help  thinking  how  much  more  enduring  is 
his  influence  over  the  sun  than  that  exercised 
by  the  famous  fighter.  Joshua  commanded 
the  sun  to  stand  still  for  one  day;  but  Copemi- 


Short  Stones  in  the  Bible  107 

cus,  after  ages  and  ages  in  which  the  sun  had 
regularly  revolved  around  the  earth,  com- 
manded the  sun  to  stand  still  for  the  rest  of 
time;  and  the  obedient  sun  has  not  moved  from 
that  day  to  this. 

The  story  of  Gideon  is  as  interesting  as  the 
story  of  Gibeon;  and  it  is  not  only  on  adolescent 
examination-papers  that  the  two  are  confused. 
I  remember  many  years  ago,  when  the  authors 
of  The  Unseen  Universe  were  in  activity,  they 
were  attacked  by  some  scientific  authority, 
who,  in  ridiculing  the  old  Bible  narrative,  spoke 
of  the  sun  going  down  on  Gideon.  The  delighted 
Bible  apologists  cheerfully  admitted  that  such 
an  event  would  indeed  be  a  miracle;  at  least, 
they  could  not  see  how  the  sun  could  go  down 
on  Gideon  without  at  least  causing  great  per- 
sonal inconvenience  to  that  hero. 

While  Gideon  is  in  many  ways  an  attractive 
character,  I  think  his  courage  has  been  over- 
praised. I  am  more  impressed  by  his  caution, 
by  his  racial  capacity  to  drive  a  shrewd  bar- 
gain, by  his  reluctance  to  move  until  success 
was  assured.  Gideon  was  the  son  of  Joash,  and 
when  we  first  see  him,  he  is  threshing  wheat 
secretly  by  the  winepress,  to  hide  it  from  the 


io8  Reading  the  Bible 

powerful  Midianites.  To  his  amazement  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  appears  and  salutes  him  as 
follows:  The  Lord  is  with  thee,  thou  mighty- 
man  of  valour.  Gideon's  reply  is  thoroughly 
characteristic:  Oh  my  Lord,  if  the  Lord  be 
with  us,  why  then  is  all  this  befallen  us?  and 
where  be  all  his  miracles  which  our  fathers 
told  us  of,  saying.  Did  not  the  Lord  bring  us 
up  from  Egypt?  but  now  the  Lord  hath  for- 
saken us,  and  delivered  us  into  the  hands  of  the 
Midianites.  Then  follows  divine  reassurance; 
but  this  is  not  enough  for  Gideon.  He  demands 
a  sign,  and  soon  receives  one  that  ought  to  have 
convinced  the  most  skeptical  mind  in  the  world. 
But  Gideon,  the  true  ancestor  of  all  those  who 
come  from  Missouri,  puts  a  fleece  of  wool  in 
the  floor,  and  suggests  that  if  the  dew  fall  only 
on  the  fleece,  while  all  the  earth  beside  is  dry, 
then  he  will  believe.  On  the  morrow  the  mira- 
cle has  happened;  he  wrings  a  bowl-full  of 
water  out  of  the  fleece,  while  all  around  the 
ground  is  dry.  One  can  see  the  expression  on 
his  face  as  he  makes  the  further  request  that  on 
the  following  night  everything  be  wet  except 
the  fleece.  The  divine  patience  is  inexhaustible, 
for  now  the  fleece  becomes  a  little  island  in  a 


Short  Stories  in  the  Bible  109 

sea  of  dew.  After  this  triple  trial  of  the  Lord's 
message,  Gideon  goes  along  with  his  host,  and 
the  three  hundred  men  are  selected  by  the 
famous  experiment  of  lapping  the  water.  The 
impartial  Bible  chronicler  narrates  without 
comment  the  following  facts,  which  prove  that 
uncertainty  and  fear  yet  lingered  in  the  soul 
of  this  chronic  doubter. 

And  it  came  to  pass  the  same  night,  that  the  Lord 
said  unto  him,  Arise,  get  thee  down  unto  the  host; 
for  I  have  delivered  it  unto  thine  hand.  But  if  thou 
fear  to  go  down,  go  thou  with  Phurah  thy  servant, 
down  to  the  host:  and  thou  shalt  hear  what  they  say; 
and  afterward  shall  thine  hands  be  strengthened  to  go 
down  unto  the  host.  Then  went  he  down  with  Phurah 
his  servant  unto  the  outside  of  the  armed  men  that 
were  in  the  host. 

After  the  overwhelming  victory,  Gideon 
followed  the  two  kings  Zebah  and  Zalmunna, 
with  his  three  hundred  men,  who,  as  the  his- 
torian remarked  in  a  phrase  that  was  to  be 
memorable,  were  faint,  yet  pursuing.  As  the 
people  of  Succoth  declined  to  give  his  little 
army  any  bread,  Gideon  adopted  a  stem  peda- 
gogical method. 


no  Reading  the  Bible 

And  he  took  the  elders  of  the  city,  and  thorns  of  the 
wilderness  and  briers,  and  with  them  he  taught  the 
men  of  Succoth. 

Tennyson  alludes  to  this  switching  in  his  sonnet 
on  Buonaparte. 

at  Trafalgar  yet  once  more 
We  taught  him:  late  he  learned  humility 
Perforce,  like  those  whom  Gideon  school'd  with  briers. 

Zebah  and  Zaimunna  spoke  well  and  behaved 
well  in  the  presence  of  death,  and  their  regal 
speech  and  manner  should  not  be  forgotten. 
Gideon  asked  them, 

What  manner  of  men  were  they  whom  ye  slew  at 
Tabor?  And  they  answered.  As  thou  art,  so  were  they; 
each  one  resembled  the  children  of  a  king.  And  he 
said.  They  were  my  brethren,  even  the  sons  of  my 
mother:  as  the  Lord  liveth,  if  ye  had  saved  them  alive, 
I  would  not  slay  you.  And  he  said  unto  Jether  his 
firstborn.  Up,  and  slay  them.  But  the  youth  drew 
not  his  sword:  for  he  feared,  because  he  was  yet  a  youth. 
Then  Zebah  and  Zaimunna  said,  Rise  thou,  and  fall 
upon  us:  for  as  the  man  is,  so  is  his  strength.  And 
Gideon  arose,  and  slew  Zebah  and  Zaimunna,  and 
took  away  the  ornaments  that  were  on  their  camels* 
necks. 


Short  Stories  In  the  Bible  in 

Gideon  had  many  wives,  seventy  sons,  and 
in  the  Bible  language,  died  in  a  good  old  age. 
As  soon  as  he  was  dead,  the  children  of  Israel 
forsook  all  his  teachings  and  worshiped  Baal. 
His  illegitimate  son,  Abimelech,  while  not  an 
admirable  character,  for  he  slew  his  seventy 
legitimate  brothers  on  one  stone,  had  more 
natural  courage  than  his  father.  He  was  a 
desperado,  and  had  the  qualities  of  his  defects. 
He  was  besieging  a  city,  and  there  was  a  strong 
tower  within  the  walls :  thither  fled  all  the  men 
and  women,  barred  the  gate  of  the  tower,  and 
stood  together  on  the  top,  looking  down  at 
furious  Abimelech.  He,  who  had  formerly 
brought  Bimam  wood  to  Dunsinane,  attempted 
to  set  fire  to  this  edifice,  perhaps  in  the  same 
fashion. 

And  Abimelech  came  unto  the  tower,  and  fought 
against  it,  and  went  hard  unto  the  door  of  the  tower 
to  burn  it  with  fire.  And  a  certain  woman  cast  a  piece 
of  a  millstone  upon  Abimelech's  head,  and  all  to  brake 
his  skull.  Then  he  called  hastily  unto  the  young  man 
his  armour-bearer,  and  said  unto  him,  Draw  thy  sword, 
and  slay  me,  that  men  say  not  of  me,  A  woman  slew 
him.  And  his  young  man  thrust  him  through,  and  he 
died. 


112  Reading  the  Bible 

There  is  something  about  this  villain  that 
compels  admiration. 

The  story  of  Jephthah's  daughter  has  made 
an  indelible  impression  on  the  world,  although 
her  ultimate  fate  still  rests  in  doubt — was  she 
slain,  or  merely  condemned  to  remain  un- 
married? Byron,  who  wrote  one  of  the  worst 
of  the  many  poem.s  inspired  by  this  girl,  refused 
to  be  drawn  by  a  correspondent  into  a  contro- 
versy on  the  subject.  "Whatever  may  be  the 
absolute  state  of  the  case,"  said  the  poet,  "I 
am  innocent  of  her  blood,"  And  on  another 
occasion  he  remarked,  "Well,  my  hands  are 
not  imbrued  in  her  blood!"  The  fearless 
reahsm  of  the  narrator  in  the  book  of  Judges 
and  his  impartiahty  are  plainly  shown  in  the 
first  verse  that  begins  this  famous  tale: 

Now  Jephthah  the  Gileadite  was  a  mighty  man  of 
valour,  and  he  was  the  son  of  an  harlot:  and  Gilead 
begat  Jephthah. 

Certainly  one  of  the  most  dramatic  scenes  in 
the  Bible  is  where  the  captain's  daughter — ^his 
only  child — came  out  to  meet  him  with  timbrels 
and  with  dances.  The  captain  rent  his  clothes, 
and    cried,    "Alas,    my   daughter!    thou    hast 


Short  Stories  in  the  Bible  113 

brought  me  very  low,  and  thou  art  one  of  them 
that  trouble  me:  for  I  have  opened  my  mouth 
unto  the  Lord,  and  I  cannot  go  back." 

No  angel  intervened,  as  in  the  case  of  Abra- 
ham and  Isaac;  and  this  splendid  girl  met  her 
fate  with  resolution,  thinking  more  of  her 
father's  victory  than  of  her  own  sorrow.  It  is 
curious,  that  although  she  is  one  of  the  most 
familiar  characters  in  history,  the  historian 
neglected  to  mention  her  name. 

That  tedious  old  fool,  Polonius,  who,  accord- 
ing to  Coleridge,  is  "the  personification  of  the 
memory  of  wisdom  no  longer  possessed,"  had 
apparently  forgotten  the  old  story;  when 
Hamlet  quoted  the  English  ballad  on  the  theme, 
the  aged  counsellor  was  quite  at  a  loss. 

It  is  a  fair  surmise  that  Shakespeare  in  his 
own  mind  condemned  Jephthah  for  keeping  the 
vow;  for  in  the  play  King  Henry  the  Sixth,  Part 
III  J  Clarence  impetuously  declares 

I  will  not  ruinate  my  father's  house, 

Who  gave  his  blood  to  lime  the  stones  together, 

And  set  up  Lancaster.    Why,  trow'st  thou,  Warwick, 

That  Clarence  is  so  harsh,  so  blunt,  unnatural, 

To  bend  the  fatal  instruments  of  war 

Against  his  brother  and  his  lawful  king? 


1 14  Reading  the  Bible 

Perhaps  thou  wilt  object  my  holy  oath: 

To  keep  that  oath  were  more  impiety 

Than  Jephthah's,  when  he  sacrificed  his  daughter. 

Faust  is  the  story  of  the  man  who  regretted 
his  compact  with  the  Devil;  Jephthah  regretted 
his  compact  with  Jehovah. 

Perhaps  among  the  innumerable  references 
to  this  tragedy  that  mark  the  pages  of  EngUsh 
hterature,  the  finest  tribute  to  the  heroine  is  to 
be  found  in  Teimyson's  Dream  of  Fair  Women. 

"Leaving  the  oUve-gardens  far  below, 

Leaving  the  promise  of  my  bridal  bower, 
The  valleys  of  grape-loaded  vines  that  glow 
Beneath  the  battled  tower. 

"The  light  white  cloud  swam  over  us.    Anon 
We  heard  the  lion  roaring  from  his  den; 
We  saw  the  large  white  stars  rise  one  by  one, 
Or,  from  the  darken'd  glen, 

"Saw  God  divide  the  night  with  flying  flame. 
And  thunder  on  the  everlasting  hills. 
I  heard  Him,  for  He  spake,  and  grief  became 
A  solemn  scorn  of  ills. 

"When  the  next  moon  was  roll'd  into  the  sky, 
Strength  came  to  me  that  equall'd  my  desire. 
How  beautiful  a  thing  it  was  to  die 
For  God  and  for  my  sire! 


Short  Stones  in  the  Bible  115 

"It  comforts  me  in  this  one  thought  to  dwell, 
That  I  subdued  me  to  my  father's  will; 
Because  the  kiss  he  gave  me,  ere  I  fell, 
Sweetens  the  spirit  still. 

"  Moreover  it  is  written  that  my  race 

Hew'd  Ammon,  hip  and  thigh,  from  Aroer 
On  Arnon  unto  Minneth."    Here  her  face 
Glow'd,  as  I  look'd  at  her. 

She  lock'd  her  lips;  she  left  me  where  I  stood: 
"Glory  to  God,"  she  sang,  and  past  afar, 
Thridding  the  sombre  boskage  of  the  wood, 
Toward  the  morning-star. 

The  first  great  illustration  of  a  modem 
fashion  in  literary  art  is  the  dramatic  story  of 
Rahab,  who  hid  the  spies  on  the  top  of  her 
house,  and  was  duly  rewarded  in  the  day  of 
reckoning.  She  is  highly  complimented  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  by  being  included 
among  those  who  triumphed  through  faith; 
while  this  writer  mentions  her  as  an  example 
of  faith,  the  apostle  James  calls  her  to  the  stand 
as  one  justified  by  works.  Possibly  our  Lord 
had  Rahab  in  mind  when  He  declared  with 
terrible  force  to  the  chief  priests,  Verily  I  say 
unto  you.  That  the  publicans  and  harlots  go 


Ii6  Reading  the  Bible 

into  the  kingdom  of  God  before  you.  The 
professional  religious  hypocrite  is  placed  lower 
in  the  moral  scale  than  the  professional  sinner. 
It  is  curious  that  many  who  attack  the 
Bible  to-day  attack  it  for  the  very  virtues  they 
praise  most  strenuously  in  modem  writers — I 
refer  to  its  calm  realism  and  unashamed  pre- 
sentment of  all  the  facts  in  the  lives  of  Old 
Testament  characters,  where  no  attempt  is 
made  to  win  the  favour  of  the  reader  by  the 
suppression  or  glossing  over  of  gross  and  hein- 
ous faults.  Samson  is  surely  a  sympathetic 
character;  every  reader  loves  him.  Milton  did 
not  hesitate  to  make  a  superb  protagonist  out 
of  him,  and  Delilah  has  been  a  synonym  for 
wickedness,  treachery,  and  deceit.  But  the 
Bible  narrator  does  not  defend  Samson;  his 
downfall  was  his  own  fault  for  being  such  an 
idiot.  In  reading  Milton  one  would  imagine 
that  Samson  was  some  holy  elder  in  the  church 
who,  despite  his  sharp  self-accusations,  had 
been  cruelly  deceived;  but  the  Bible  is  more 
objective,  and  puts  down  the  good  and  the  bad 
in  this  giant's  career  without  comment.  One 
naturally  feels  a  certain  sweetness  in  his  revenge 
when  he  pulled  the  building  upon  his  jeering 


Short  Stories  in  the  Bible  117 

enemies.  Perhaps  it  is  not  impertinent  to 
recall  the  jest  of  our  American  humorist,  John 
Kcndrick  Bangs,  who  said  that  Samson  was  a 
famous  practical  joker  and  that  his  last  joke 
brought  down  the  house. 

The  story  of  Balak  and  Balaam  is  one  of  the 
first  instances  in  history  where  a  political  boss 
discovers  to  his  chagrin  that  he  cannot  control 
his  most  influential  orator.  With  bribery  and 
flattery  he  invited  Balaam  to  come  and  de- 
nounce Israel;  but  Balaam,  as  has  happened 
more  than  once  since  then,  will  not  play  the 
role  assigned  to  him,  because  he  hears  an  inner 
voice  of  duty  louder  than  the  blandishments 
of  Balak.  The  modem  political  analogy  is 
complete;  for  after  two  severe  disappointments, 
Balak  said  unto  Balaam,  Neither  curse  them  at 
all,  nor  bless  them  at  all — I  don't  know  why  I 
find  that  remark  so  amusing,  except  that  I  can 
hear  Balak's  tone  so  plainly — "If  you  find  you 
can't  help  me,  do  at  all  events  stay  neutral, 
keep  your  mouth  shut."  But  the  disappointed 
impresario  is  to  regret  even  more  bitterly  that 
he  drew  this  obstinate  speaker  into  the  cam- 
paign; Balaam  will  be  neither  an  advocate  nor 
silent,  but  pours  out  a  flood  of  oratory  for  the 


Ii8  Reading  the  Bible 

other  side,  winding  up  with  the  rather  strange 
invitation  to  Balak  to  come  and  visit,  "and 
I  will  advertise  thee  what  this  people  shall  do 
to  thy  people  in  the  latter  days."  The  invita- 
tion does  not  seem  particularly  alluring,  yet 
Balak,  who  is  one  of  the  few  men  in  the  Bible 
characterised  by  undeviating  stupidity,  seems 
to  have  accepted  it. 

The  famous  story  of  Aliab  and  Naboth's 
vineyard  reminds  us  of  the  towering  insolence 
and  uncontrolled  greed  of  the  German  Emperor, 
William  II:  and  the  answer  of  Naboth,  who 
knew  he  was  no  match  in  power  with  the  king, 
reminds  us  of  the  reply  made  to  a  certain  re- 
quest, by  Belgium — And  Naboth  said  unto 
Ahab,  The  Lord  forbid  it  me,  that  I  should 
give  the  inheritance  of  my  fathers  unto  thee. 

Peevish  King  Ahab  went  on  a  hunger  strike, 
but  Jezebel  knew  how  to  manage  both  the 
executive  and  the  judicial  departments  of  the 
government.  Whatever  of  truth  there  may  be 
in  Kipling's  general  assertion  that  the  female 
of  the  species  is  more  deadly  than  the  male, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Jezebel  was  a  more 
formidable  foe  than  Ahab.  Like  Macbeth,  he 
let  I  dare  not  wait  upon  I  would;  but  Jezebel 


Short  Stones  in  the  Bible  119 

was  even  bolder  than  Lady  JMacbeth,  for  in- 
stead of  trusting  her  husband  to  carry  out  her 
plans,  she  attended  to  the  matter  herself.  The 
sequel  to  this  story  of  avarice  and  murder  is 
fittingly  tragic.  Elijah  prophesies  that  Jezebel's 
body  shall  be  eaten  by  dogs,  but  the  Bible 
narrative  turns  aside  to  discuss  so  many  other 
matters  that  we  forget — as  perhaps  Jezebel 
did — the  fate  foretold.  Suddenly,  many  chap- 
ters farther  along,  when  the  reader  is  absorbed 
in  the  story  of  Joram  and  Ahaziah,  Jehu  ap- 
pears on  the  scene.  His  furious  driving  is  an 
indication  of  his  imperious  and  impetuous 
temperament. 

And  there  stood  a  watchman  on  the  tower  in  Jezreel, 
and  he  spied  the  company  of  Jehu  as  he  came,  and 
said,  I  see  a  company.  And  Joram  said,  Take  an  horse- 
man, and  send  to  meet  them,  and  let  him  say,  Is  it 
peace?  So  there  went  one  on  horseback  to  meet  him, 
and  said,  Thus  saith  the  king,  Is  it  peace?  And  Jehu 
said.  What  hast  thou  to  do  with  peace?  turn  thee 
behind  me.  And  the  watchman  told,  saying,  The 
messenger  came  to  them,  but  he  cometh  not  again. 
Then  he  sent  out  a  second  on  horseback,  which  came 
to  them,  and  said,  Thus  saith  the  king,  Is  it  peace? 
And  Jehu  answered.  What  hast  thou  to  do  with  peace? 
turn  thee  behind  me.    And  the  watchman  told,  saying, 


I20  Reading  the  Bible 

Ke  came  even  unto  them,  and  cometh  not  again:  and 
the  driving  is  like  the  driving  of  Jehu  the  son  of  Nim- 
shi ;  for  he  driveth  furiously.  .  .  .  And  when  Jehu  was 
come  to  Jezrecl,  Jezebel  heard  of  it;  and  she  painted 
her  face,  and  tired  her  head,  and  looked  out  at  a  window. 
And  as  Jehu  entered  in  at  the  gate,  she  said.  Had  Zimri 
peace,  who  slew  his  master?  And  he  lifted  up  his  face 
to  the  window,  and  said.  Who  is  on  my  side?  who? 
And  there  looked  out  to  him  two  or  three.  .  .  .  And 
he  said,  Throw  her  down.  So  they  threw  her  down:  and 
some  of  her  blood  was  sprinkled  on  the  wall,  and  on 
the  horses,  and  he  trode  her  under  foot.  And  when 
he  was  come  in,  he  did  eat  and  drink,  and  said,  Go, 
see  now  this  cursed  woman,  and  bury  her:  for  she  is  a 
king's  daughter.  And  they  went  to  bury  her:  but 
they  found  no  more  of  her  than  the  skull  and  the  feet, 
and  the  palms  of  her  hands.  Wherefore  they  came 
again  and  told  him.  And  he  said;  This  is  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  which  he  spake  by  his  servant,  Elijah  the 
Tishbite,  saying,  In  the  portion  of  Jezreel,  shall  dogs 
eat  the  flesh  of  Jezebel. 

The  recent  conquest  of  Palestine  by  the 
British  army  under  General  Allenby,  has 
brought  vividly  to  the  minds  of  many  not  only 
the  famous  prophecies  in  Isaiah  and  in  other 
books,  but  the  old  stories.  To  imaginative 
soldiers,  Jerusalem,  Jezreel,  and  other  places 
must  have  seemed  full  of  ghosts.    This  idea  is 


Short  Stones  In  the  Bible  121 

the  inspiration  of  a  poem  by  Thomas  Hardy, 
published  in  the  London  Times  in  1918. 

JEZREEL 

Did  they  catch  as  it  were  in  a  Vision  at  shut  of  the  day — 
When  their  cavalry  smote  through  the  ancient  Es- 
draelon  Plain, 
And  they  crossed  where  the  Tishbite  stood  forth  in  his 
enemy's  way — 
His  gaunt,  mournful  Shade  as  he  bade  the  king  haste 
off  amain? 

On  war-men  at  this  end  of  time — even  on  Englishmen's 
eyes — 
Who  slay  with  their  arms  of  new  might  in  the  long- 
ago  place. 

Flashed  he  who  drove  furiously?  ,  .  .     Ah,  did  the 
phantom  arise 

Of  that  queen — of  that  proud  Tyrian  woman  who 
painted  her  face? 

Faint-marked  they  the  words,  "Throw  her  down," 
rise  from  Time  eerily 
Spectre-spots  of  the  blood  of  her  body  on  some 
rotten  wall? 
And  the  thin  note  of  pity  that  came :  "  A  king's  daughter 
is  she." 
As  they  passed  where  she  trodden  was  once  by  the 
chargers'  footfall? 


122  Reading  the  Bible 

Could  such  be  the  hauntings  of  men  of  to-day,  at  the 
cease 
Of  pursuit,   at   the  dusk-hour,   ere  slumber  their 
senses  could  steal? 

Enghosted  seers,  kings — one  on  horseback  who  asks 
"Is  it  peace?" 

Yea,  strange  things  and  spectral  may  men  have  be- 
held in  Jezreel! 

One  of  the  most  simple  and  beautiful  of  the 
short  stories  in  the  Bible  is  the  account  of  the 
mighty  man  Naaman,  and  how  the  little  maid, 
an  Israelite  captive  among  the  Syrians,  gave 
witness  to  the  power  of  the  man  of  God  in  the 
household  of  His  enemies.  Then  after  the  cure 
of  leprosy  was  complete,  and  the  great  physi- 
cian had  refused  any  fee,  and  had  settled  the 
question  of  religious  courtesy  for  his  distin- 
guished visitor,  the  charming  story  has  a  tragic 
close,  all  the  more  stem  and  solemn  because 
the  reader  is  unprepared  for  such  a  conclusion. 
Never  shall  I  forget  the  first  time  I  read  this 
chapter,  and  my  horror  at  the  last  sentence: 

And  he  went  out  from  his  presence  a  leper  as 
white  as  snow. 

Elijah  and  Elisha  were  pitiless  when  the  occa- 
sion seemed  to  demand  drastic  methods;  and 


Short  Stones  in  the  Bible  123 

I  am  afraid  that  their  treatment  of  persons  who 
did  not  pay  sufficient  respect  to  their  dignity- 
had  a  not  altogether  salutary  effect  on  the 
bearing  of  our  Puritan  ancestors.  Elijah  did 
not  hesitate  to  bum  alive  two  companies  of 
men  along  with  their  captains;  but  I  think  the 
most  depressing  page  in  the  Bible  is  the  con- 
duct of  Elisha,  who,  having  worn  his  new 
honours  only  a  short  time,  receives  a  fusillade 
of  p'ersonal  comments  from  the  little  gamins 
who  came  out  of  the  city  streets.  The  type  is 
eternal;  these  boys  are  the  same  in  all  countries 
and  in  all  ages. 

There  came  forth  little  children  out  of  the  city,  and 
mocked  him,  and  said  unto  him,  Go  up,  thou  bald 
head:  go  up,  thou  bald  head.  And  he  turned  back, 
and  looked  on  them,  and  cursed  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord.  And  there  came  forth  two  she  bears  out  of 
the  wood,  and  tare  forty  and  two  children  of  them. 

I  remember  how  this  story  affected  me  in  my 
childhood;  and  how  my  mother,  who  seemed 
for  some  reason  to  feel  it  necessary  to  defend 
all  the  acts  of  the  prophet,  reasoned  with  me 
in  a  way  that  certainly  did  not  convince  me 
and  which  I  am  now  sure  did  not  convince  her. 
Honest,  faithful,  realistic  Bible,  putting  down 


124  Reading  the  Bible 

with  appalling  bluntness  the  good  and  the  bad 
in  a  man's  life!  Even  professional  prophets 
had  their  off  days — and  lost  their  temper  with 
unfortmiate  consequences  to  those  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity.  But  can't  you  see  the  Co- 
lonial Puritan  reading  aloud  this  incident  at 
morning  prayers,  with  a  final  look  over  his 
glasses  at  the  children? 

The  book  of  Esther,  the  book  of  Daniel,  and 
the  Apocrypha  abound  in  admirable  specimens 
of  the  art  of  the  Short  Story,  where,  as  is  com- 
monly the  rule  elsewhere  in  the  Bible,  dramatic 
intensity  is  gained  by  the  absence  of  rhetorical 
flourishes.  In  the  famous  story  of  the  writing 
on  the  wall  in  the  book  of  Daniel,  the  fairness 
of  the  doomed  king  ought  to  be  recorded  to  his 
credit.  Belshazzar  announced  that  if  Daniel 
could  interpret  the  writing,  he  should  be 
clothed  in  scarlet,  have  a  chain  of  gold  about 
his  neck,  and  become  the  third  ruler  in  the 
kingdom.  Daniel's  interpretation  was  not 
only  uncomplimentary  to  the  king's  character, 
but  also  a  stem  prediction  of  his  ruin.  Yet 
although  Daniel,  with  studied  insolence,  had 
declined  the  rewards  in  advance,  no  sooner  was 
his  indictment  completed  than  it  is  followed 


Short  Stones  In  the  Bible  125 

by  the  simple  words,  Then  commanded  Bel- 
shazzar,  and  they  clothed  Daniel  with  scarlet, 
and  put  a  chaui  of  gold  about  his  neck,  and 
made  a  proclamation  concerning  him,  that  he 
should  be  the  third  ruler  in  the  kingdom. 

Let  us  remember  that  if  this  royal  Pagan 
could  not  keep  his  kingdom,  he  kept  his 
word. 

Although  the  Old  Testament  is  filled  -with 
short  stories  of  great  power  and  beauty,  it  is 
when  we  turn  to  the  New  Testament  that  we 
find  the  supreme  examples  of  the  art.  The 
supremacy  of  our  Lord  as  a  spiritual  teacher  is 
cordially  recognised  even  by  many  who  do  not 
believe  in  His  divine  mission;  but  he  was  su- 
preme in  other  ways  as  well.  The  distinguished 
American  playwright,  Augustus  Thomas,  has 
in  an  admirable  essay,  emphasised  the  physical 
prowess  and  endurance  of  Jesus  Christ;  from 
every  point  of  view  He  is  not  only  the  Teacher, 
but  the  Model  for  all  men.  We  should  remem- 
ber also  that  He  was  a  supreme  Hterary  artist. 
The  short  stories  that  He  produced  with  such 
colloquial  ease  are  the  finest  in  the  world;  they 
are,  indeed,  the  despair  of  all  professional  men 
of  letters.    No  tales  ever  written  combine  such 


126  ReadinR  the  Bible 


& 


amazing  power  with  such  impressive  economy 
in  the  use  of  words.  The  parables  are  the 
perfection  of  realistic  art;  the  tremendous 
paradoxes  are  driven  home  with  a  simplicity 
that  has  the  apparent  unconsciousness  of  a 
flower.  The  Mediaeval  Church  made  a  litur- 
gical drama  out  of  the  story  of  the  wise  and 
fooKsh  virgins;  the  supper  at  Simon's  house  is 
as  though  it  happened  yesterday;  the  three 
famous  parables  dealing  ■with  money  are  all 
equally  vivid, — I  mean  the  woman  who  lost 
the  piece  of  silver,  the  men  who  were  entrusted 
with  the  talents,  and  the  labourers  who  were 
hired  for  a  certain  sum.  No  one  can  forget  the 
two  men  named  Lazarus;  Lazarus  who  died 
and  went  to  heaven,  and  Lazarus  who  died  and 
returned  to  earth.  The  resurrection  of  Lazarus 
has  had  an  astonishingly  germinal  effect  on 
literature  from  that  day  to  this.  Tennyson 
pauses  and  reflects  about  him  in  In  Memoriam; 
one  of  Browning's  greatest  poems  deals  with 
his  spiritual  transformation;  our  American 
poet,  Anna  Branch,  was  inspired  by  this  tale 
to  write  one  of  her  most  dramatic  pieces;  and 
no  one  who  reads  Dostoevski's  marvellous 
novel,  Crime  and  Punishment,  will  fail  to  be  im- 


Short  Stones  In  the  Bible  127 

pressed  by  the  scene  where  Sonia  with  choking 
voice  reads  aloud  the  story  of  Lazarus  to  the 
despairing  criminal. 

Sonia  opened  the  book  and  found  the  place.  Her 
hands  were  shaking,  her  voice  failed  her.  Twice  she 
tried  to  begin  and  could  not  bring  out  the  first  syllable. 
"Now  a  certain  man  was  sick  named  Lazarus  of 
Bethany,"  she  forced  herself  at  last  to  read,  but  at 
the  third  word  her  voice  broke  like  an  overstrained 
string.  There  "W'as  a  catch  in  her  breath.  Raskolnikov 
saw  in  part  why  Sonia  could  not  bring  herself  to  read 
to  him  and  the  more  he  saw  this,  the  more  roughly 
and  irritably  he  insisted  on  her  doing  so.  He  under- 
stood only  too  well  how  painful  it  was  for  her  to  betray 
and  unveil  all  that  was  her  own.  He  understood  that 
these  feelings  really  were  her  secret  treasure,  which 
she  had  kept  perhaps  for  years,  perhaps  from  child- 
hood, while  she  lived  with  an  unhappy  father  and  a 
distracted  stepmother  crazed  by  grief,  in  the  midst  of 
starving  children,  and  imseemly  abuse.  .  .  .  "And 
when  he  had  thus  spoken,  he  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
Lazarus,  come  forth.  And  he  that  was  dead  came 
forth."  She  read  loudly,  cold  and  trembling  with  ec- 
stasy, as  though  she  were  seeing  it  before  her  eyes.  .  .  . 
She  still  trembled  feverishly.  The  candle-end  was 
flickering  out  in  the  battered  candlestick,  dimly  light- 
ing up  in  the  poverty-stricken  room  the  murderer 
and  the  harlot  who  had  so  strangely  been  reading  to- 
gether the  eternal  book. 


128  Reading  the  Bible 

Jesus  not  only  raised  Lazarus  from  the  dead — 
He  did  more:  He  gave  him  imxmortal  life  on 
earth,  in  all  languages  and  in  all  nations. 

The  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  is  not  prop- 
erly named.  The  word  "prodigal"  occurs 
nowhere  in  the  Bible.  The  reason  why  this  is 
called  the  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  is  because 
most  readers  still  suppose  it  to  be  merely  a 
story  of  sin,  repentance,  and  fatherly  love. 
But  it  is  really  the  story  of  a  certain  man  who 
had  two  sons;  and  there  is  just  as  much  empha- 
sis on  the  elder  as  on  the  younger  brother. 
The  Puritan  conception  of  sin  was  generally  so 
narrow  that  our  ancestors  actually  believed 
that  the  rich  farmer  had  two  boys,  one  of  whom 
was  bad  and  one  good.  Now  as  a  matter  of 
fact  he  had  two  bad  sons,  both  very  bad,  of 
whom  the  elder  was  the  worse.  Let  us  grant 
the  selfishness  and  debauchery  of  the  younger. 
Perhaps  he  would  never  have  come  home  at 
all  if  his  money  had  not  given  out,  sharpening 
the  importunate  spur  of  hunger.  And  it  was 
by  no  accident  that  his  father  met  him  on  his 
return.  The  father  was  sure  that  the  boy 
would  come  home  again,  and  who  knows  how 
many  days  he  had  gone  forth  to  await  his 


Short  Stones  in  the  Bible  129 

appearance?  When  the  ashamed  lad  tried  to 
apologise,  the  father  made  him  feel  at  once 
that  his  motive  in  returning  was  of  no  impor- 
tance compared  with  the  overwhelming  joy  of 
the  fact.  If  we  could  have  back  from  the  grave 
those  that  we  love,  should  we  care  very  much 
what  motive  brought  them? 

Now  to  regard  the  elder  son  as  good  and  his 
brother  as  bad  is  surely  to  misunderstand 
profoundly  the  true  significance  of  this  mar- 
vellous story.  The  elder  brother  was  so  case- 
hardened  by  selfish  respectability  that  no  force 
of  love  could  break  through  his  armour;  his 
petulance  is  the  outward  sign  of  ineradicable 
and  incurable  vice.  When  did  I  ever  transgress 
thy  commandment?  When  have  I  ever  done 
anything  wrong?  .  .  .  That  negative  concep- 
tion of  virtue  has  been  responsible  for  the  error 
of  all  errors  concerning  the  beauty  of  holiness. 
Is  virtue  then  negative?  If  his  father  had  not 
been  so  obstreperously  happy  in  his  boy's 
return,  he  might  have  asked  this  cold-hearted 
prig  some  embarrassing  questions. 

Our  Lord's  matchless  stories  are  the  purest 
realism;  and  in  the  strange  book  of  Revelation 
we  find  the  wildest  romanticism.    In  the  year 


130  Reading  the  Bible 

1 91 8,  the  sudden  fame  of  Ibanez's  novel  set 
everybody  to  rereading  the  sixth  chapter  of 
the  most  mystical  work  in  the  Bible,  where  the 
four  horsemen  of  the  Apocalypse  appear. 

And  I  saw,  and  behold  a  white  horse:  and  he  that 
sat  on  him  had  a  bow:  and  a  crown  was  given  unto 
him:  and  he  went  forth  conquering,  and  to  conquer. 

And  there  went  out  another  horse  that  was  red: 
and  power  was  given  to  him  that  sat  thereon  to  take 
peace  from  the  earth:  and  that  they  should  kill  one 
another:  and  there  was  given  unto  him  a  great  sword. 

And  I  beheld,  and  lo  a  black  horse:  and  he  that  sat 
on  him  had  a  pair  of  balances  in  his  hand. 

And  I  looked,  and  behold  a  pale  horse:  and  his  name 
that  sat  on  him  was  Death,  and  Hell  followed  with  him. 

As  the  vision  of  the  four  horses  inspired  a 
popular  twentieth-century  novel,  so  the  story 
of  the  One  who  had  on  his  vesture  and  on  his 
thigh  written,  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords, 
gave  to  the  verse  of  the  twentieth  century  a 
thrilling  poem  by  that  modem  mystic  Francis 
Thompson,  the  poem  called  The  Veteran  of 
Heaven. 

The  story  of  the  famous  Beast  has  set  many 
would-be  mathematicians  to  weary  months  of 
calculation,  in  the  attempt  to  find  a  fulfillment 


Short  Stories  in  the  Bible  131 

of  the  oracular  description.  Mr.  Birrell  some- 
where alludes  to  that  large  and  highly  interest- 
ing class  of  persons  who  prefer  statistics  to 
poetry.  It  is  curious  to  reflect  that  the  chief 
interest  of  many  in  the  book  of  Revelation  is 
to  juggle  with  figures,  just  as  there  are  those 
whose  main  energy  as  they  read  the  pages  of 
Shakespeare  is  to  hunt  for  a  cipher. 

As  the  Bible  day  by  day  exerts  its  regener- 
ating and  vivifying  spiritual  influence  on  the 
souls  of  men,  so  its  sublime  and  homely  poetry 
and  prose  recreate  new  masterpieces  in  all 
literatures,  which  rise  from  the  inexhaustible 
spring  of  living  water  in  the  Word  of  Life. 


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BY   THE   SAME   AUTHOR 

Essays  on  Books 

{New  Edition  Preparing) 

"  They  are  the  natural  utterance  of  such  a  dweller  as 
Mr.  Phelps  is  in  such  a  world  as  the  present.  They  re- 
count his  adventures  with  certain  masters  and  master- 
pieces among  whom  natural  tastes  and  occasions  have 
thrown  him.  They  are  genuine  in  their  kind,  whether 
brief  notes  and  reviews,  as  many  of  them  are,  or  essays 
of  some  length  and  pretension.  ...  By  far  the  longest 
essay  in  the  volume  —  the  essay  on  Richardson  —  is 
also  in  many  respects  the  best.  .  .  .  Mr.  Phelps's 
analysis  of  the  famous  romances  is,  with  all  its  compact- 
ness, perhaps  the  best  that  has  been  made  within  any 
compass."  —  The  Nation. 

"This  is  just  what  we  want."  —  George  Hodges,  in 
The  Congregationalist. 

"  A  sense  of  humor  is,  perhaps,  the  best  key  an  essay- 
ist can  possess  to  unlock  the  hearts  of  his  readers.  .  .  . 
A  keen  sense  of  humor  is,  even  more  than  Professor 
William  Lyon  Phelps's  power  of  analysis,  the  especial 
patent  by  which  he  claims  our  attention.  .  .  .  But  the 
most  to  be  recommended  of  all  the  essays  in  the  book 
is  that  very  able  one  which  opens  the  volume  and  which 
is  called  '  Realism  and  Reality  in  Fiction.'  No  subject 
is  so  well  adapted  to  frequent  and  illuminating  reflec- 
tions, and  Professor  Phelps,  it  may  be  safely  said,  pre- 
sents real  light  upon  the  tendencies  of  modern  fiction." 
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Essays  on  Modern  Novelists 

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Professor  Phelps  opens  the  book  with  a  discussion  of  William 
De  Morgan,  whom  he  analyzes  closely,  dwelling  on  his  remark- 
able personality,  and  comparing  his  art  with  that  of  Dickens. 
From  De  Morgan  he  passes  to  Thomas  Hardy,  keenly  consider- 
ing all  of  his  output  and  showing  without  prejudice  the  good 
and  the  bad.  Hardy's  pessimism  is  shown  to  be  the  ground 
principle  in  his  novels,  with  his  firm  conviction  that  "  morally 
men  and  women  are  immensely  superior  to  God."  Other  rep- 
resentative modern  novelists  to  whom  separate  essays  are 
devoted  are  Howells,  Mark  Twain,  Bjornson,  Sienkievvicz, 
Sudermann,  OUivant,  Stevenson,  Blackmore,  Kipling,  and  Mrs. 
Humphry  Ward.  The  chapter  on  Mrs.  Ward  presents  an  en- 
tirely different  view  of  her  work  and  talents  from  that  taken  by 
conventional  criticism.  This  original  and  searching  analysis  has 
already  aroused  much  comment  both  in  England  and  in  America. 
The  volume  closes  with  a  discussion  of  "  Novels  as  a  University 
Study"  and  "The  Teacher's  Attitude  toward  Contemporary 
Literature."  A  complete  list  of  publications,  with  dates,  of  all 
the  authors  treated  in  the  work,  is  included. 

There  is  also  an  estimate  of  Mrs.  Humphry  Ward,  than  which 
there  has  been  nothing  better  written  of  this  prolific  English- 
woman. And  these  essays  are  not  written  in  the  usual  profes- 
sorial manner,  but  in  the  keen  personal  vein  which  makes  the 
literary  estimates  as  valuable  for  their  self-revelation  as  for 
their  adequate  appraisal.  To  me,  the  most  illuminating  review 
in  the  book  is  the  critical  study  of  Rudyard  Kipling.  —  Los 
Angeles  Times. 

Professor  Phelps's  method  of  treatment  is  gentle,  kindly,  but 
shrewdly  penetrative,  so  that  the  reader  will  find  himself  in 
sympathy  with  his  judgments.  —  Independent. 

Professor  Phelps  is  certainly  a  master  in  the  art  of  saying  much 
in  little.  In  a  few  pages,  with  clear,  concise  sentences,  an 
epigram  here,  a  sly  sugf^estion  there,  a  personality  is  limned 
for  you  within  thumb-nail  limits.  ...  A  book  that  is  amus- 
ing, helpful,  sound,  and  stimulating.  —  The  Bellman. 

Mr.  Phelps  is  at  his  best  in  his  essay  on  iiAxdey.-— London 
Times. 

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Essays  on  Russian  Novelists 

Cloth     Illustrated    izmo     $1.50 

Professor  Phelps  follows  closely  the  style  of  his  recent  success- 
ful work,  "  Essays  on  Modern  Novelists."  He  discusses  the 
Russians  with  absolute  frankness,  pointing  out  their  defects 
and  their  merits.  Besides  the  great  authors,  Pushkin,  Gogol, 
Turgenev,  Dostoevski,  and  Tolstoi,  short  chapters  deal  with 
contemporaries,  —  Andreev,  Gorki,  Chekhov,  Artsybashev, 
Kuprin.  A  complete  list  with  dates  of  all  the  writings  of  these 
men,  with  the  translations,  is  included  in  the  volume,  making 
it  invaluable  for  reference.  "  Russian  literature  is  the  voice 
of  a  giant,  waking  from  a  long  sleep,  and  becoming  articulate." 

The  author  of  "  Essays  on  Russian  Novelists  "  gives  such  evi- 
dence of  a  real  grasp  of  the  Russian  character  that  he  must  be 
imbued  with  the  spirit  of  love  and  sympathy  which  he  ascribes 
to  Russians.  .  .  .  The  book  is  written  in  a  fluent  style,  the 
interest  never  flags,  and  it  contains  much  excellent  material. 

—  London  Athenawn. 

A  book  .  .  .  which  no  American  lover  of  Russian  fiction 
should  fail  to  read.  —  Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

During  the  course  of  these  studies  Professor  Phelps  places  and 
holds  his  finger  upon  the  pulsating  force  of  Russian  fiction,  its 
deep  and  intense  gloom.  To  each  of  the  great  story-tellers 
Professor  Phelps  gives  an  essay  that  has  the  dominant  virtue 
of  clearness,  and  no  small  measure  of  analytic  power.  —  Boston 
Transcript. 

In  his  broad  portraiture  of  the  disclosure  of  the  Russian  genius 
in  the  field  of  art  in  which  it  has  made  great  achievements, 
Mr.  Phelps  has  written  a  book  of  authoritative  racial  interpre- 
tation. —  The  Outlook, 

II  est  toujours  interessant  pour  les  cercles  intellectuels  d'un 
pays  de  lire  un  jugement  sur  leur  litterature,  exprime  par  un 
critique  etranger,  intelligent  et  erudit.  Le  cas  se  presente 
avec  le  petit  volume  intitule  "  Essays  on  Russian  Novelists." 
Le  volume  commence  par  une  etude  generale  .  .  .  6tude  pleine 
d'observations  fines  et  d'idees  neuves. — Mercure  de  France. 


THE   MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  York 


BY  THE  SAME  AUTHOR 

Teaching  in  School  and  College 

Cloth    i2tno    $/.oo 

"  A  frank,  vigorous,  and  certainly  a  readable  little  book."  — 
TAe  Nation. 

"The  long,  practical  experience  of  the  author  and  his  remark- 
able success  make  his  message  worth  listening  to,  and  the  clear 
and  vigorous  style  in  which  it  is  presented  insures  that  it  will 
receive  the  full  attention  it  deserves."  —  TAe  Independent. 

"  Professor  Phelps'  book  is  considerably  more  intimate  than 
the  majority  of  works  upon  this  subject.  It  is  concrete,  spe- 
cific, and  practical  throughout." —  TAe  Dial. 

"This  little  book  is  like  a  fresh  breeze  blowing  across  the  arid 
plains  of  scientific  pedagogy.  .  .  .  Any  teacher  in  any  school 
or  college  will  be  helped  and  encouraged  by  reading  these 
chapters."  —  Samuel  T.  Dutton,  in  The  Educational  Review. 

"  Wit  and  wisdom  mingle  throughout  the  pages  of  this  volume, 
whether  Mr.  Phelps  is  discussing  English  pronunciation  or  the 
moral  aspect  of  teaching.  It  will  prove  pleasant  as  well  as 
profitable  reading  for  the  teacher  in  school  or  college."  —  Bos- 
ton Transcript. 

"A  characteristically  vigorous  and  unpedantic  book  which 
speaks  to  those  who  can  catch  the  spirit  of  teaching  rather 
than  to  those  who  await  explicit  instruction  in  the  letter,  though 
it  contains  many  valuable  suggestions  in  the  technical  part  of 
teaching."  —  Springfield  Republican. 


THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 

Publishers  64-66  Fifth  Avenue  New  Tork 


This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date 


stamped  below 


JUL.26  tS4t 

,IU  8      1933  I        //^~^^-T^ 

JUL  iBtsM 

JUN  5     1^51  i 

OCT  1119311    '''^^m 

(,  *^x^      VIAY  15  1952 
5      T9Wj 


OlSCHARGt-UKL 


AR  161981 


i—         u.i^>t/i 


dcti 


0 


it{3»Ayl21966 


WY  1  7  ^^U 

JUL   2  7lS€® 

rm  L-9-lO»i-5,'28 


•WW  12  1976 


AA    001  296  738    6 


II  n 


Bi>bUO  .P51r 

y 


L  009  580  381    3 


